Space shuttle SRM field joint: Review paper
Keywords:
Field joint, Tang, Clevis, SRB, Capture Feature.Abstract
Due to Challenger space shuttle accident in 1986, significant research has been done concerning structural behavior of field joints in solid rocket boosters (SRB). The structural deformations between the clevis inner leg and the tang (male-to-female parts of joint), the sealing of the O-ring to prevent the hot gas in joints, has been neglected causing the failure of the vehicle. Redesigning the field joint in SRB engine by accurate analysis of dynamic and thermal loads and by design of insulator and good O-ring, the leakiness of combustion hot gases was eliminated. Some parts of field joint such as capture feature (CF) and its third O-ring, J-leg insulator and shim were added to redesigned field joint. Also, some adjustments in sealing system and pins were done to promote the efficiency of the field joint. Due to different experimental analysis on assembled field joints with default imperfections, redesigned joints operated well. These redesigned field joints are commonly used in aerospace and mechanical structures. This paper investigates the original and the redesigned field joints with additional explanations of different parts of the redesigned joints.
References
N.F. Knight, Jr., R.E. Gillian, and M.P. Nemeth, Nonlinear Shell Analysis of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters. ed. Springer Series in Computational Mechanics, ed. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Vol. 1990. Number of 305-326.
W. Harkins, Solid Rocket Motor Joint Reliability 1999.
N. Allman, et al., The Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster Report.
http://www.ahrtp.com/RSS-JSfeeds/Shuttles_Challenger_Columbia_Tragedies.html#.UyHc1oVRBK4.
Solid Rocket Booster Processing. ed., ed. Nasa: Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
N. Michael and A. Melvin, Axisymmetric shell analysis of the Space Shuttle solid rocket booster field joint. ed. Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials and Co-located Conferences, ed. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1989.
D. Ruddell, D. Holt, M. Yates, B. McQuivey,V. Call, Vacant, Metal Components and Seals. ed., ed. ATK THIOKOL.
M. Perry, et al., Journal of Propulsion and Power. 7(2): 1991 p. 139-145.
W.H. Greene, N.F. Knight, and A.E. Stockwell, Structural behavior of the space shuttle SRM tang-clevis joint [microform] NASA technical memorandum ; 89018. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Langley Research Center Hampton, 1987.
M. A and R.A.Y. W, Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor Program. ed. Joint Propulsion Conferences, ed. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1991.
D. Vaughan, The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA. University of Chicago Press, 2009.
N.F. Knight, Preliminary 2-D shell analysis of the space shuttle solid rocket boosters [microform]. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Langley Research Center: Hampton, 1988.
D. Garecht, Space Shuttle Production Verification Motor-1 (pv-1) Static Fire,Brigham City, Thiokol Corp., Space Operations , 1989.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their published articles online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website, social networks like ResearchGate or Academia), as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Except where otherwise noted, the content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.