posted 03-19-2014 07:12 AM               

SBKF Move to U.S. Space & Rocket Center

The Shell Buckling Knockdown Factor (SBKF) "Can Crusher II" test article is transported to the US Space and Rocket Center in Alabama.

NASA engineers buckled an aluminum-lithium cylinder similar in size to fuel tanks for the largest rockets ever built. A series of tests were conducted inside the structural test area at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

The black-and-white polka dots on the tank allowed 20 high-speed cameras to record minute changes as almost a million pounds of force pressed down upon the tank.

The NESC funded the tests as part of the Shell Buckling Knockdown Factor Project, which is developing a new set of engineering standards for launch vehicles with the potential to reduce vehicle weight by 20 percent.