Carbon fiber composite cryogenic fuel tanks are very attractive to the aerospace industry. More information is needed on micro-cracking and how different composite formulations perform at cryogenic temperatures. In this study a cryogenic bulge test fixture was developed to rapidly screen small scale composite samples that are easily formulated in the laboratory. The design goal was to develop a simple fixture that induced thermal and mechanical strains in the same fixture. The pressure decay rate of helium gas through the composite sample after cryogenic operation gives a measure of the amount of micro-cracking induced. Uncertainty analysis techniques were employed to determine the resolution of the pressure decay determined from the bulge test.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-2440 |
| Date | 07 August 2004 |
| Creators | Ragsdale, James Gordon |
| Publisher | Scholars Junction |
| Source Sets | Mississippi State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
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