High-Performance Plastic Sled Design for Polar Traversing

• Main Authors: Weale, Jason C, Lever, James H, Trovillion, Jonathan
• Other Authors: COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER NH
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: Snow; Ice and Permafrost; Plastics; Containers and Packaging; Surface Transportation and Equipment; Mechanics; *ANTARCTIC REGIONS; *FUEL TANKS; *POLYETHYLENE PLASTICS; *SLEDS; CRACKING(FRACTURING); DUCTILITY; FAILURE(MECHANICS); FUELS; GREENLAND; LIFE EXPECTANCY(SERVICE LIFE); LOW TEMPERATURE; MOLECULAR WEIGHT; PERFORMANCE(ENGINEERING); SHEETS; TENSILE TESTERS; COLD-TESTING HMW-PE; EPOLAR(ENGINEERING FOR POLAR OPERATIONS LOGISTICS AND RESEARCH); HMW-PE(HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT POLYETHYLENE); HIGH-PERFORMANCE PLASTIC SLEDS; HMW-PE POLAR SLEDS; HMW-PE SLED DURABILITY; NSF; POLAR SLED DEVELOPMENT; POLAR TRAVERSES; Antarctic; Greenland; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice; permafrost
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA619010; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA619010

Over-snow resupply traverses in Antarctica and Greenland tow high-efficiency fuel sleds that consist of flexible fuel bladders strapped to flexible sheets of high molecular weight polyethylene (HMW-PE). Despite low towing stresses, initial HMW-PE sheets were prone to cracking and failure within 1 to 2 years of service. This report describes the results of low temperature, uniaxial tensile tests, following ASTM Standard D638, that we used to set specifications on HMW-PE sheets for polar sleds, aiming to increase service life. Tests of the original HMW-PE formulations showed significant reductions in ductility, as measured by percent elongation at break, at 40 C compared with 23 C. HMW-PE manufacturers subsequently cooperated to supply sheets with greater low-temperature ductility, and the rate of sled breakages decreased dramatically. Performance specifications for new HMW-PE sheets for polar traverses now include a requirement for greater than 60% elongation at break at 40 C, as measured using ASTM 638 uniaxial tensile tests. The original document contains color images. Prepared in collaboration with the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL), U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Champaign, IL. Additional project nos. EP-ANT-13-46, EP-ARC-10-12, and EP-ARC-12-12.