Space

NASA crushes rocket fuel tank for science

NASA crushes rocket fuel tank for science
The tests aim at reducing the weight of the SLS by 20 percent (Image: NASA)
The tests aim at reducing the weight of the SLS by 20 percent (Image: NASA)
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The tank is similar in size to that which wil be used on the SLS (Image: NASA/MSFC/Fred Deaton)
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The tank is similar in size to that which wil be used on the SLS (Image: NASA/MSFC/Fred Deaton)
Test tank being moved into position (Image: NASA)
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Test tank being moved into position (Image: NASA)
The aluminum-litium tank was subjected to almost one million lb of force (Image ASA/Fred Deaton)
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The aluminum-litium tank was subjected to almost one million lb of force (Image ASA/Fred Deaton)
The tests aim at reducing the weight of the SLS by 20 percent (Image: NASA)
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The tests aim at reducing the weight of the SLS by 20 percent (Image: NASA)
Artist's concept of the SLS (Image: NASA)
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Artist's concept of the SLS (Image: NASA)
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On December 9, NASA began what is either an impressive engineering test or a classic example of world-class larking about. At the space agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, engineers are crushing an enormous can by subjecting it to almost one million pounds of force. This may seem like a party trick that’s gone out of control, but there’s a serious reason behind this … or so NASA says. The crushing is part of the project to design the fuel tanks for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), which will be used to launch the Orion spacecraft and deep space missions.

The problem with propellants is that you need some way to carry them. Early liquid fuel rockets had fuel tanks installed in their hulls, but in the 1950s, engineers saw this as a needless expense in weight and complexity. Their answer was to turn the fuselage of the the rocket itself into the fuel tank. By the 1960s, this had gone so far that the rockets that ran the Space Race ended up as giant, round metal envelopes that used the fuel as part of the structural integrity. Think of it as being like a plastic water bottle that can sit in a lunch bag just fine when it’s full, but crumples easily when empty.

This approach solved a lot of problems, but it added others. Not only did the hull have to cover equipment, it had to withstand pressures, control sloshing, and all sorts of things that a simple skin doesn’t have to. And it had to do this while maintaining the rocket’s structural integrity.

Test tank being moved into position (Image: NASA)
Test tank being moved into position (Image: NASA)

The tests, called the Shell Buckling Knockdown Factor Project, are taking place at Marshall’s Structural and Dynamics Engineering Test Laboratory, where the Saturn V rocket, the Space Shuttle, and components of the International Space Station underwent similar tests on the world’s largest tensile testbed. The tank is an unused Space Shuttle component. It’s 27.5 ft (8.3 m) in diameter, is made of an aluminum-lithium alloy, and NASA says that it’s similar in structure to the SLS fuel tanks.

The purpose of the tests is to subject the tank to the sort of loads expected during an SLS launch. The tank is pressurized to simulate flight conditions and to see how well the it holds up to internal pressure, and the test bed inflicts compression and bending forces on it that cause some serious squishing.

"When it buckled it was quite dramatic," says Mark Hilburger, senior research engineer in the Structural Mechanics and Concepts Branch at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. "We heard the bang, almost like the sound of thunder and could see the large buckles in the test article."

Artist's concept of the SLS (Image: NASA)
Artist's concept of the SLS (Image: NASA)

The buckling is measured using a technique called Digital Image Correlation. For this, the tank is painted with 70,000 irregular black and white polka dots. Around the tank, 22 high-speed cameras monitor the dots continuously and record any buckles, rips or strains by measuring any displacement over a wide area.

The main goal of the tests is to find a way to reduce the weight of the SLS by 20 percent. This will allow the booster to carry heavier payloads and missions farther into deep space.

"In addition to providing data for the Space Launch System design team, these tests are preparing us for upcoming full-scale tests," says Matt Cash, Marshall's lead test engineer for the shell buckling efforts and the SLS forward skirt and liquid oxygen tank structural testing. "Performing structural tests on hardware that is the same size as SLS hardware is providing tremendous benefit for our future development work for the rocket."

The video below describes the crush test.

Source: NASA

Shell Buckling Test

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3 comments
3 comments
Ken Tuck
Rotate the support struts 45 degrees.
Slowburn
AT this point NASA should just buy payload deliveries.
ELM
At first, my thoughts were the same as Ken, "rotate the support struts". Was always taught when it comes to downward forces, arches or triangles are stronger than squares. However, when the arch or peak is not inline with the ends/tips, then I believe they lose their strength as twisting becomes involved.
If moving the strut 45 degree's was so obvious, I would assume they would have gone that way to begin with. It will be interesting to see how they improve the structural strength and if they can actually stop or limit further buckling.
I know it would be extremely labor intensive to construct and unsure how the welds (if used) would perform, but would a hollow shell, made up of tiny pyramids (either welded together or 3D printed (big 3D printer)), would work? Extremely hard to crush/twist a single pyramid. I assume because of other "outer" requirements, you would have to use a thicker outer wall, however the internal walls (if kept small) could be much lighter, and I am not sure, but I do believe the pyramid retains it strength even if you punch a round hole in each of its walls. If this is the case, then fuel could freely flow into the "hollow" cavities of each pyramid. Downfall with greater surface area, comes greater weight. But if the material gauge can be made thinner due to additional strength and external factors allow, then the payoff may be enough????