An advanced carbon-carbon structural component is being experimentally evaluated for use as primary load carrying structure for future single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicles. The component is a wing torque box section featuring an advanced, three-spar design. This design features 3D-woven, angle-interlock skins, 3D integrally woven spar webs and caps, oxidation inhibited matrix, chemical vapor deposited (CVD) oxidation protection coating, and ceramic matrix composite fasteners. The box spar caps are nested into the skins which, when processed together through the carbon-carbon processing cycle, resulted in monolithic box halves. The box half sections were then joined at the spar web intersections using ceramic matrix composite fasteners. This method of fabrication eliminated fasteners through both the upper and lower skins. Development of the carbon-carbon wing box structure was accomplished in a four phase design and fabrication effort, conducted by Boeing, Information, Space and Defense Systems, Seattle, WA, under contract to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The box is now set up for testing and will soon begin cyclic loads testing in the AFRL Structural Test Facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB), OH. This paper discusses the latest test setup accomplishments and the results of the pre-cyclic loads testing performed to date.
Thermo-mechanical cyclic testing of carbon-carbon primary structure for an SSTO vehicle
Space technology and applications international forum -1999 ; 1999 ; Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA)
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 458 , 1 ; 1175-1180
1999-01-22
6 pages
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Thermo-mechanical evaluation of carbon-carbon primary structure for SSTO vehicles
American Institute of Physics | 1998
|Thermo-Mechanical Evaluation of Carbon-Carbon Primary Structure for SSTO Vehicles
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1998
|Carbon-Carbon Primary Structures for SSTO Vehicles
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1997
|Online Contents | 1995
|AUTOPHAGE REUSABLE SSTO LAUNCH VEHICLE
TIBKAT | 2020
|