[spam][ot][rambling][crazy] Building a Spaceship Out Of Something Doubly Infeasible: was Weak and Flimsy

Karl gmkarl at gmail.com
Wed Dec 1 06:22:05 PST 2021


https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1021134128038

The mechanical properties of ice and snow are reviewed. The tensile
strength of ice varies from 0.7–3.1 MPa and the compressive strength
varies from 5–25 MPa over the temperature range −10°C to −20°C. The
ice compressive strength increases with decreasing temperature and
increasing strain rate, but ice tensile strength is relatively
insensitive to these variables. The tensile strength of ice decreases
with increasing ice grain size. The strength of ice decreases with
increasing volume, and the estimated Weibull modulus is 5. The
fracture toughness of ice is in the range of 50–150 kPa m1/2 and the
fracture-initiating flaw size is similar to the grain size. Ice-soil
composite mixtures are both stronger and tougher than ice alone. Snow
is a open cellular form of ice. Both the strength and fracture
toughness of snow are substantially lower than those of ice.
Fracture-initiating flaw sizes in snow appear to correlate to the snow
cell size.


More information about the cypherpunks mailing list