Effects of Low Temperatures on Structural Metals
Abstract
The advanced liquid-propellant rockets for the exploration of space use liquefied gases as part of the fuel mixture. The Atlas and Titan ICBM's and the Saturn booster employ liquid oxygen as an oxidizing agent, and liquid- hydrogen rocket engines are being developed for the upper stages in the Saturn booster system. Oxygen and hydrogen are an efficient combination of oxidizer and fuel, if they can be employed in the liquid state. In order to maintain these reactants as liquids, they must be stored at or below their boiling temperatures (-297 F for oxygen and 423 F for hydrogen at normal atmospheric pressure). There are many problems, associated with the storage and handling of these cryogenic fluids, which must be considered in the design and fabrication of tankage and other components of such systems. Thus, a continuing program is being conducted by the Propulsion and Vehicle Engineering Laboratory of the Marshall Space Flight Center to evaluate the applicability of various metallic materials at cryogenic temperatures. The severest limitation on the use of certain metals at low temperatures is that imposed by the increasing susceptibility to brittle failure as the temperature decreases Just as with materials used for any other structural purposes, strength, ductility, and toughness are important considerations in most cryogenic applications. The studies at the Marshall Space Flight Center have emphasized these aspects of materials behavior in evaluating the mechanical properties of the materials discussed in this review.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1964
- Accession Number
- ADA397260
Entities
Organizations
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration