TY - JOUR
T1 - Characterization of structural, volume and pressure components to space suit joint rigidity
AU - Holschuh, B.
AU - Waldie, J.
AU - Hoffman, J.
AU - Newman, D.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Gas-pressurized space suits are highly resistive to astronaut movement, and this resistance has been previously explained by volume and/or structural effects. This study proposed that an additional effect, pressure effects due to compressing/expanding the internal gas during joint articulation, also inhibits mobility. EMU elbow torque components were quantified through hypobaric testing. Structural effects dominated at low joint angles, and volume effects were found to be the primary torque component at higher angles. Pressure effects were found to be significant only at high joint angles (increased flexion), contributing up to 8.8% of the total torque. These effects are predicted to increase for larger, multi-axis joints. An active regulator system was developed to mitigate pressure effects, and was found to be capable of mitigating repeated pressure spikes caused by volume changes.
AB - Gas-pressurized space suits are highly resistive to astronaut movement, and this resistance has been previously explained by volume and/or structural effects. This study proposed that an additional effect, pressure effects due to compressing/expanding the internal gas during joint articulation, also inhibits mobility. EMU elbow torque components were quantified through hypobaric testing. Structural effects dominated at low joint angles, and volume effects were found to be the primary torque component at higher angles. Pressure effects were found to be significant only at high joint angles (increased flexion), contributing up to 8.8% of the total torque. These effects are predicted to increase for larger, multi-axis joints. An active regulator system was developed to mitigate pressure effects, and was found to be capable of mitigating repeated pressure spikes caused by volume changes.
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U2 - 10.4271/2009-01-2535
DO - 10.4271/2009-01-2535
M3 - Conference article
AN - SCOPUS:85072471863
SN - 0148-7191
JO - SAE Technical Papers
JF - SAE Technical Papers
T2 - International Conference on Environmental Systems, ICES 2009
Y2 - 12 July 2009 through 12 July 2009
ER -