Low-Temperature Flex Durability of Fabrics for Polar Sleds
Lightweight fuel-bladder sleds are remarkably efficient and less expensive than conventional steel sleds for Antarctic resupply traverses. However, a significant fraction of fuel bladders develop cracks after being emptied and folded for return transport and storage. We conducted low-temperature fle...
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ftdtic:ADA610887 2023-05-15T13:53:41+02:00 Low-Temperature Flex Durability of Fabrics for Polar Sleds Lever, James H Weale, Jason C Durell, Glenn COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER NH 2014-10-06 text/html http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA610887 http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA610887 en eng http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA610887 Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. DTIC Coatings Colorants and Finishes Textiles Plastics Surface Transportation and Equipment Mechanics *FABRICS *PLASTIC COATINGS *POLYETHYLENE PLASTICS *SLEDS CRACKING(FRACTURING) FATIGUE(MECHANICS) GREENLAND LOW TEMPERATURE MOLECULAR WEIGHT PERMEABILITY POLAR REGIONS STORAGE TEST AND EVALUATION ANTARCTICA DURABILITY EPOLAR FATIGUE CRACKS FLEXIBILITY GELBO TEST LIGHTWEIGHT SLEDS POLYMER-COATED FABRICS FLEX-DURABILITY TESTS FOLD-CRACKING PROBLEMS AIR PERMEABILITY TESTS TENSILE CRACKING ARCS(AIR-RIDE CARGO SLEDS) FUEL-BLADDER MATERIALS ARCS MATERIALS HMW-PE(HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT POLYETHYLENE) Text 2014 ftdtic 2016-02-24T16:31:55Z Lightweight fuel-bladder sleds are remarkably efficient and less expensive than conventional steel sleds for Antarctic resupply traverses. However, a significant fraction of fuel bladders develop cracks after being emptied and folded for return transport and storage. We conducted low-temperature flex-durability tests of existing and candidate bladder materials to understand the fold-cracking problems and to seek more durable materials. The fabric specimens underwent repeated cycles of severe twisting and folding at -40 C, after which the specimens were checked for leaks by using an air-permeability test. Remarkably, the existing bladder material could withstand hundreds of cycles before cracking and leaking, and it performed better than tested alternatives. We speculate that months-long folded storage of bladders causes stress-relaxation in the polymer coating at tight folds, and pre-season unfolding then induces tensile cracking. In 2013, the South Pole Traverse (SPoT) acted on our recommendation to transport and store empty bladders inflated. They reported very promising results: no leaks in bladders and shorter preparation times for sled reuse. The flex-durability tests also identified very durable materials to build enclosure pouches for air-ride cargo sleds (ARCS). ARCS have the potential to transport rigid and out-size cargo as efficiently as fuel in bladder sleds. The original document contains color images. Text Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Greenland South pole South pole Defense Technical Information Center: DTIC Technical Reports database Antarctic Greenland South Pole |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Defense Technical Information Center: DTIC Technical Reports database |
op_collection_id |
ftdtic |
language |
English |
topic |
Coatings Colorants and Finishes Textiles Plastics Surface Transportation and Equipment Mechanics *FABRICS *PLASTIC COATINGS *POLYETHYLENE PLASTICS *SLEDS CRACKING(FRACTURING) FATIGUE(MECHANICS) GREENLAND LOW TEMPERATURE MOLECULAR WEIGHT PERMEABILITY POLAR REGIONS STORAGE TEST AND EVALUATION ANTARCTICA DURABILITY EPOLAR FATIGUE CRACKS FLEXIBILITY GELBO TEST LIGHTWEIGHT SLEDS POLYMER-COATED FABRICS FLEX-DURABILITY TESTS FOLD-CRACKING PROBLEMS AIR PERMEABILITY TESTS TENSILE CRACKING ARCS(AIR-RIDE CARGO SLEDS) FUEL-BLADDER MATERIALS ARCS MATERIALS HMW-PE(HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT POLYETHYLENE) |
spellingShingle |
Coatings Colorants and Finishes Textiles Plastics Surface Transportation and Equipment Mechanics *FABRICS *PLASTIC COATINGS *POLYETHYLENE PLASTICS *SLEDS CRACKING(FRACTURING) FATIGUE(MECHANICS) GREENLAND LOW TEMPERATURE MOLECULAR WEIGHT PERMEABILITY POLAR REGIONS STORAGE TEST AND EVALUATION ANTARCTICA DURABILITY EPOLAR FATIGUE CRACKS FLEXIBILITY GELBO TEST LIGHTWEIGHT SLEDS POLYMER-COATED FABRICS FLEX-DURABILITY TESTS FOLD-CRACKING PROBLEMS AIR PERMEABILITY TESTS TENSILE CRACKING ARCS(AIR-RIDE CARGO SLEDS) FUEL-BLADDER MATERIALS ARCS MATERIALS HMW-PE(HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT POLYETHYLENE) Lever, James H Weale, Jason C Durell, Glenn Low-Temperature Flex Durability of Fabrics for Polar Sleds |
topic_facet |
Coatings Colorants and Finishes Textiles Plastics Surface Transportation and Equipment Mechanics *FABRICS *PLASTIC COATINGS *POLYETHYLENE PLASTICS *SLEDS CRACKING(FRACTURING) FATIGUE(MECHANICS) GREENLAND LOW TEMPERATURE MOLECULAR WEIGHT PERMEABILITY POLAR REGIONS STORAGE TEST AND EVALUATION ANTARCTICA DURABILITY EPOLAR FATIGUE CRACKS FLEXIBILITY GELBO TEST LIGHTWEIGHT SLEDS POLYMER-COATED FABRICS FLEX-DURABILITY TESTS FOLD-CRACKING PROBLEMS AIR PERMEABILITY TESTS TENSILE CRACKING ARCS(AIR-RIDE CARGO SLEDS) FUEL-BLADDER MATERIALS ARCS MATERIALS HMW-PE(HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT POLYETHYLENE) |
description |
Lightweight fuel-bladder sleds are remarkably efficient and less expensive than conventional steel sleds for Antarctic resupply traverses. However, a significant fraction of fuel bladders develop cracks after being emptied and folded for return transport and storage. We conducted low-temperature flex-durability tests of existing and candidate bladder materials to understand the fold-cracking problems and to seek more durable materials. The fabric specimens underwent repeated cycles of severe twisting and folding at -40 C, after which the specimens were checked for leaks by using an air-permeability test. Remarkably, the existing bladder material could withstand hundreds of cycles before cracking and leaking, and it performed better than tested alternatives. We speculate that months-long folded storage of bladders causes stress-relaxation in the polymer coating at tight folds, and pre-season unfolding then induces tensile cracking. In 2013, the South Pole Traverse (SPoT) acted on our recommendation to transport and store empty bladders inflated. They reported very promising results: no leaks in bladders and shorter preparation times for sled reuse. The flex-durability tests also identified very durable materials to build enclosure pouches for air-ride cargo sleds (ARCS). ARCS have the potential to transport rigid and out-size cargo as efficiently as fuel in bladder sleds. The original document contains color images. |
author2 |
COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER NH |
format |
Text |
author |
Lever, James H Weale, Jason C Durell, Glenn |
author_facet |
Lever, James H Weale, Jason C Durell, Glenn |
author_sort |
Lever, James H |
title |
Low-Temperature Flex Durability of Fabrics for Polar Sleds |
title_short |
Low-Temperature Flex Durability of Fabrics for Polar Sleds |
title_full |
Low-Temperature Flex Durability of Fabrics for Polar Sleds |
title_fullStr |
Low-Temperature Flex Durability of Fabrics for Polar Sleds |
title_full_unstemmed |
Low-Temperature Flex Durability of Fabrics for Polar Sleds |
title_sort |
low-temperature flex durability of fabrics for polar sleds |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA610887 http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA610887 |
geographic |
Antarctic Greenland South Pole |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Greenland South Pole |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Greenland South pole South pole |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Greenland South pole South pole |
op_source |
DTIC |
op_relation |
http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA610887 |
op_rights |
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
_version_ |
1766259071120310272 |