Tearing analysis of a new airship envelope material under uniaxial tensile load

Abstract

This paper experimentally investigated the tearing properties of a new kind of coated woven fabrics, GQ-6, made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber. Such material can be used for the envelope materials of a stratospheric airship. First, the uniaxial tearing tests were carried out. Effects of the stretching rate, the initial crack length, and the initial crack orientation on the material's tearing tensile strength were investigated. Experimental results showed that the initial crack length and the initial crack orientation can be represented by the equivalent initial crack length while the stretching rate has a slight influence on tearing behavior of the uniaxial tensile specimens. Then analytical studies using three methods, i.e. Griffith energy theory, the stress intensity factor theory, and Thiele's empirical theory, among which, the stress intensity factor theory gives the best correlation with the test data. Finally, a 48mm threshold of the equivalent initial crack length was recommended to the envelope material in operation.