Investigation of High Variability in the Creep Behavior of Vectran Yarn

Inflatable structures are being pursued as candidates for long-term habitats in space and on the surfaces of the Moon and Mars. Many concepts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and industry utilize high-strength, low-weight softgoods materials, such as Vectran, as the primary load-bearing structure in inflatable habitats. Understanding the creep behavior of these materials at the yarn level, is a critical part of understanding the component and module level creep behavior that allows the design and safe use of these habitats for long duration missions. In this paper, details of two different test methods to capture the creep-rupture behavior of Vectran yarn will be documented. One method utilizes load amplification via lever-arms, while the other method utilizes a more conventional direct loading approach. The two methods are compared to determine the best forward path for the research.