During the design stages of the shuttle orbiter, fracture-mechanics concepts were applied extensively to the highly stressed areas of the structure. This was the first space program to require a comprehensive fracture mechanics approach to prevent structural failures from crack or crack-like defects. As anticipated, some difficult problems were encountered. This paper briefly describes some of them together with the procedure used for fracture control on the orbiter. It is believed that the principles and methods as presented herein can serve as an example of fracture control for aerospace and other industries.
Application of fracture mechanics on the space shuttle
Anwendung der Bruchmechanik auf die space shuttle
Damage Tolerance of Metallic Structures. A symp. sponsored by ASTM ; STP 842 ; 108-133
1984
26 Seiten, 21 Bilder, 3 Tabellen, 16 Quellen
Conference paper
English
Application of fracture mechanics to space-shuttle windows
Tema Archive | 1974
|Space Shuttle Orbiter Fracture Control Plan
NTRS | 1974
|Space Shuttle Orbiter Fracture Control Plan
NTRS | 1973
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