Computer program for nonlinear static stress analysis of shuttle thermal protection system: User's manual

User documentation is presented for a computer program which considers the nonlinear properties of the strain isolator pad (SIP) in the static stress analysis of the shuttle thermal protection system. This program is generalized to handle an arbitrary SIP footprint including cutouts for instrumentation and filler bar. Multiple SIP surfaces are defined to model tiles in unique locations such as leading edges, intersections, and penetrations. The nonlinearity of the SIP is characterized by experimental stress displacement data for both normal and shear behavior. Stresses in the SIP are calculated using a Newton iteration procedure to determine the six rigid body displacements of the tile which develop reaction forces in the SIP to equilibrate the externally applied loads. This user documentation gives an overview of the analysis capabilities, a detailed description of required input data and an example to illustrate use of the program.