Abstract
This article proposed a new convenient method to obtain tear strength of an airship envelope fabric, which is a laminated plain weave fabric with the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers. First, a modified formula based on Maekawa’s empirical formula was derived. Uniaxial tear tests were then conducted on three series of single-edge notched specimens with varying widths and their critical tear stresses were measured. The experimental result showed that critical tear stress decreases with the reduction of specimen width when initial crack length is fixed. Afterward, the tear stresses of the fabric were simulated by Maekawa’s empirical formula, the modified formula, and Thiele formula. By comparing the theoretical results with the experimental results, the modified formula was verified to be consistent well with the test data. Finally, an equation was derived, which shows tear strength of this fabric decreases as initial crack length increases. For instance, when the initial crack length is 31.75 mm, the tear strength is only 44.52% of the tensile strength.
Highlights
Stratospheric airships (SSAs) are controllable lighter-thanair (LTA) aircrafts
When initial crack length is fixed, critical tear stress would increase as specimen width becomes larger
Critical tear stress decreases with the increasing of initial crack length
Summary
Stratospheric airships (SSAs) are controllable lighter-thanair (LTA) aircrafts. SSA can stay in the stratosphere for several months or even years on buoyancy of hydrogen or helium contained in their envelopes. The envelopes must exhibit low gas permeability, high environmental resistance, high strength-to-weight ratio, and excellent tear resistance.[1] To meet these requirements, envelopes are generally made of high-strength coated or laminated fabrics and they have attracted widespread attentions. Most common failures of the fabrics are caused by tear propagation, which generally begins from a flaw or a tiny crack.[2] For an airship, a crack may lead to critical fracture of its envelope and even collapse of the whole airship. It is crucial to investigate tear properties of airship envelopes
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