Fatigue and fracture

The effects of the load/temperature environment of the shuttle on the fatigue life of the body-flap were investigated by conducting real time and accelerated flight-by-flight tests up to 500 flights on coupons containing holes. On the fracture side, much is known about the sensitivity of the tensile strengths of composites to holes and other flaws, predominantly at room temperature. The effects of notches were assessed for graphite/polyimides at the expected temperature extremes of the body-flap: 117K (-250 F) to 589K (600 F). Results indicate that the shuttle temperature extremes may affect fatigue properties HTS/PMR-15. There is no significant effect of temperature on notch-strength. Tensile strengths for specimens with holes and slots are equal.