Numerical and experimental simulation of the mechanical behaviour of inflatable structures

Details Numerical and experimental simulation of the mechanical behaviour of inflatable structures Numerical and experimental simulation of the mechanical behaviour of inflatable structures

Sep 2003

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003esasp.540..547s&link_type=abstract

In: Proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on Materials in a Space Environment, 16-20 June 2003, Noordwijk, The Netherla

Mathematics

Logic

Space Environment, Materials

Scientific paper

Inflatable structures are a great challenge for future space applications. Whatever the technical solutions adopted, a number of significant technological problems have to be solved. An important point is the mechanical behavior of the structure during the deployment and before the stiffening process. With our experience in stratospheric ballooning, we have been developing a facility, called NIRVANA, to characterize the mechanical behavior of pressurized structures in space or stratospheric environment. That is, vacuum or low absolute pressure, controlled internal or differential pressure, and low temperatures (down to -120°C). Sample under test can be either part of a pressurized structure fixed between the two parts of the facility or a complete pressurized system if the volume is less than 1 m3. The facility is equipped with a stereoscopic CCD camera device which measures the 3D strain or displacement of the structure under test. To illustrate the possibilities of this facility, we show results obtained with an envelope element of a superpressure stratospheric balloon. This envelope is made with polymer films assembled with an thermo-reactivated adhesive tape. The sample, of 1.5m diameter, is submitted to differential pressure steps while 3D displacements are measured. Experimental results are compared to numerical ones obtained by a finite element code implemented with mechanical behavior law of polymeric materials. The modelization gives results which largely agree with the experiment and enable us to continue with cold conditions and more complex structures.

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