High-Performance Plastic Sled Design for Polar Traversing

Abstract

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.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2015
Accession Number
ADA619010

Entities

People

  • James H. Lever
  • Jason C. Weale
  • Jonathan Trovillion

Organizations

  • Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cold Regions
  • Ductility
  • Engineering
  • Low Temperature
  • Materials
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Mechanics
  • Physical Properties
  • Plastics
  • Polyethylenes
  • Procurement
  • Stresses
  • Tensile Properties
  • Tensile Strength
  • Tensile Stress
  • Tensile Testing
  • Test Methods

Readers

  • Materials Science (Mechanical Engineering).
  • Petroleum Engineering
  • Polar and Arctic Studies