Kurzhals, Peter R. | Engineering Papers

NASA NTRS1987

Space Station services and design features for users

The operational design features and services planned for the NASA Space Station will furnish, in addition to novel opportunities and facilities, lower costs through interface standardization and automation and faster access by means of computer-aided integration and control processes. By furnishing a basis for large-scale space exploitation, the Space Station will possess industrial production and operational services capabilities that may be used by the private sector for commercial ventures; it could also ultimately support lunar and planetary exploration spacecraft assembly and launch facilities.

Kurzhals, Peter R.↗

NASA NTRS1960

Fatigue-Crack Propagation in Aluminum-Alloy Tension Panels

Results are presented of a series of fatigue tests to study crack propagation and the resulting stress distributions in tension panels. The panels were all of the same general design, and configurations varied mainly in the relative amount of cross-sectional area in the skin, stiffeners, and flanges. The panels were constructed of 2024-T3 and 7075-T6 aluminum alloys. It was found that the average rate of crack growth was slower in panels made of 2024-T3 aluminum alloy than in panels made of 7075-T6 aluminum alloy. All cracks initiated in the skin, and the slowest crack growth was measured in configurations where the highest percentage of cross-sectional area was in the stiffeners. Strain-gage surveys were made to determine the redistribution of stress as the crack grew across the panels. As a crack approached a given point in the skin, the stress at that point increased rapidly. The stress in the stiffeners also increased as the crack approached the stiffeners. During the propagation of the crack the stress was not distributed uniformly in the remaining area.

Whaley, Richard E.↗