Characterization of Ice for Return-to-Flight of the Space Shuttle: Part 2; Soft Ice (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781289242060)

In support of characterizing ice debris for return-to-flight (RTF) of NASA's space shuttle, we have determined the microstructure, density and compressive strength (at -10 C at approximately 0.3 per second) of porous or soft ice that was produced from both atmospheric water and consolidated snow. The study showed that the atmospheric material was generally composed of a mixture of very fine (0.1 to 0.3 millimeters) and coarser (5 to 10 millimeter) grains, plus air bubbles distributed preferentially within the more finely-grained part of the microstructure. The snow ice was composed of even finer grains (approximately 0.05 millimeters) and contained more pores. Correspondingly, the snow ice was of lower density than the atmospheric ice and both materials were significantly less dense than hard ice. The atmospheric ice was stronger (approximately 3.8 MPa) than the snow ice (approximately 1.9 MPa), but weaker by a factor of 2 to 5 than pore-free hard ice deformed under the same conditions. Zero Values are given for Young's modulus, compressive strength and Poisson's ratio that can be used for modeling soft ice from the external tank.

Author: Nasa Technical Reports Server (Ntrs)
ISBN-10: 1289242062
ISBN-13: 9781289242060
Publisher: Bibliogov
Language: English
Published: 07/23/2013
Pages: 90
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.39lbs
Size: 9.69h x 7.44w x 0.19d