October 5, 2008

Mars Hab Facade Concept

Here is a concept for the facade or a Mars habitat. In this design, there are no pieces that are actually fastened together. Everything is held in place by the interior pressure of the habitat. The Tension anchors (point towards centre) hold the entire structure together. They may be hidden in floors of the habitat. These in return hold in place the steel panel frames. These steel panels hold in place the glass with a layer of cushioning in between. Between each metal panel is another seal (the rectangular black) to prevent atmosphere from escaping. There is a great reduction in overall forces in all pieces, excluding the tension anchors.
The above is a side few of the facade. The same replacement technique can be used for the glass panels as mentioned in my previous post.
From the back, it is easier to see the black cushioning. This design has a lot of drawbacks and would likely be impractical. It would be difficult to fashion the tension anchors to one centre point. It is possible there could be a ring structure in the centre with each tension anchor attaching to it like to a key chain. The top would still need to be weighed down with regolith. It would be difficult to construct and ensure that no leaks were present. With all seals dependent on the interior being pressurized, the structure would have to be pressurized very quickly at a rate faster than it initially leaks.

It may be more practical to use this idea along with others, as opposed to applying it to all components.

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