Seismic Isolation in Bridges
In the U.S., the use of seismic isolation in new bridge construction and retrofit projects has been growing as awareness of seismic risk has spread across the country since the 1971 San...
I.P.L. Space Trusses: Structural Performance and Analysis
The utilization of the fast working massively parallel computers in solving intense numerical problems, in the field of structural engineering left disappointed many of practical engineers....
Aftershocks: The Legacy of Loma Prieta
It wasn't the fabled Big One--quite--but it came close enough. The Magnitude 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake that struck just after 5:00 p.m. on October 17, 1989 killed 63 people...
Doubling A Pipeline
The 36 in. natural gas pipeline built 32 years ago by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) its subsidiary Pacific Gas Transmission (PGT) from Canadian fields to central California has...
A Feature Based Path Planning System for Robotic Stenciling of Roadway Markings
Roadway sign stenciling is a hazardous operation exposing the roadway maintenance and construction crew to on going traffic. The current practice involves manual painting using a mechanical...
Conceptual Design and Characteristics of A Dual-Arm Cam-Lock Manipulator
Recent developments in the area of smart structures indicate that variable geometry/stiffness truss network is of fundamental importance in designing smart transformable structures and...
The Kinematic Design of a Robotic Large Space Structure Construction Service
Researchers at the University of Maryland's Robotics Research Lab are applying a kinematic rapid proto-typing methodology to the development of a commercial robotics service for the construction...
The Optimal Selection of Robot Modules for Space Manipulators
Monolithic robot systems are poorly suited to the broad requirements and uncertainties of space automation applications. Designers have considered building many robots, each of which can...
Design Techniques for Rectangular Lunar Modules
This paper discusses relevant issues concerning the design and performance of cubical lunar modules. Previously, these modules have shown to be a possible solution for living and working...
A Membrane Structure for a Lunar Assembly Building
This paper describes potential design options and construction approaches for the development of an inflatable membrane structure of non-circular cross section. This structure could be...
Allowable Design Loads for Marman Clamp Systems
Marman clamp separation systems have many aerospace applications. One of their most important applications is in the attachment of spacecraft to expendable launch vehicles. Because their...
Development of a Partial Gravity Lunar Airlock
The Planetary Projects Office (PPO) at the Johnson Space Center is developing design reference missions for human exploration of the Moon and Mars. Missions for both planets require a...
Spacecraft Wall Design for Orbital Debris Impact
This paper describes a method for obtaining the optimal rise angle of corrugated bumpers for the design of space structures in the event of an on-orbit impact. The procedure determines...
Distributional Information for Ejection Fragments
Due to lack of experience of building structures on the lunar surface and the variability that will exist in the loading as well as the structural resistance, it is suggested that initial...
Erectable Truss Hardware for Large Space Structures
The KATLOK connector is a truss structure connector that was designed to be compatible with manual assembly by an astronaut in an extra-vehicular activity (EVA) suit, telerobotic assembly...
Methods to Mitigate Thermally Induced Distortion
The purpose of this paper is to show the magnitude of bending on the Space Station Freedom Navigation Base as induced by thermal expansion and contraction over the operating range -45...
Wheel Space Station for 2025
The advantages and disadvantages of three basic space station designs are discussed. These designs are a zero-gravity can like Skylab, a tethered system, and the wheel. A design of a wheel...
Surface Payload Unloading and Deployment Options for a Lunar Return Mission
While planetary exploration studies have focuses on many areas that are critical to mission success, such as landing space transportation vehicles on other planets, a preferred method...
Lunar Base Aspects for Biotechnology Industry
A lunar base can provide unique services to biotechnology research, development, and production. A lunar location as well as the vacuum environment can protect experiments from contamination...
Onboard Image Processing With Transputers
A transputer based onboard computer for planetary vehicles is being designed in the KFKI Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics (RMKI), Budapest, Hungary. In this paper we...
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