Use of Al for recent rocket structures vs use of carbon for older ones?
Use of Al for recent rocket structures vs use of carbon for older ones?
(OP)
On TV I've recently seen aluminum isogrid for the SLS fuel tank (Horizon 2014). In the mid-eighties I worked on the Ariane V H10 interstage (the H10 interstage was canceled after the Challenger disaster in 1986 caused cancelation of the Hermes spaceplane (this is according to my memory and may be wrong)). This interstage was carbon-epoxy/Al honeycomb. Does anyone know the reasoning behind the selection of these materials? (The interstage held no fuel but had significant thermal loading, mainly radiation from the tops of the solids, as well as the main design driver of varying compression, also peaking at the position of the solids.) Why are these recent structures ally?





RE: Use of Al for recent rocket structures vs use of carbon for older ones?
Maybe the the efficiency of the rocket has gone up enough to make the interstage weight less critical.
Maybe the material was picked by some MBA Supply Chain weenie ......
RE: Use of Al for recent rocket structures vs use of carbon for older ones?
The implication is that these modern aluminum structures must somehow be weight competitive with carbon. Did the NASP structural fuel tank test failure require a change to much more conservatism in newer carbon designs?
Modern commercial aircraft (and NASP) are examples of how carbon is a preferred material for weight-critical structures. How is this different for modern rockets?
RE: Use of Al for recent rocket structures vs use of carbon for older ones?
RE: Use of Al for recent rocket structures vs use of carbon for older ones?
It's quite possible that the modern Al fuel tank has issues to do with hydrogen storage that would make carbon/polymer heavier. I've never worked on a fuel tank. We did work on some pressurized spherical helium storage bottles that were Al. At the time I just thought that composite spheres were pretty hard to make (all our carbon then was woven).
RE: Use of Al for recent rocket structures vs use of carbon for older ones?