09-29-2018, 02:29 AM
A thin 100m radius sphere would probably require some local truss supports in any case to prevent local buckling.
A thin and flat 100m radius x 20 m high cylinder with slightly larger truss supports would have no trouble holding one atmosphere of pressure.
A double shell design with two layers that are 2 to 3 meters apart (forming a floor and ceiling) would require even less structural material for the truss and provide double the living area for a cylinder Most of the area of a two layers sphere on the other hand would create vertical or diagonal walls (with respect to local "gravity") which will not be as useful as a living area.
Talking about dual purpose thin structures, how hard would it be add a large parabolic antenna (or mirror) that are connected with a truss to the cylinder?
What about the structural stability of a 100mx100m solar array, does the weight/cost calculations include the supporting truss?
Do they scale up with the size of the array and the rotational acceleration?
A thin and flat 100m radius x 20 m high cylinder with slightly larger truss supports would have no trouble holding one atmosphere of pressure.
A double shell design with two layers that are 2 to 3 meters apart (forming a floor and ceiling) would require even less structural material for the truss and provide double the living area for a cylinder Most of the area of a two layers sphere on the other hand would create vertical or diagonal walls (with respect to local "gravity") which will not be as useful as a living area.
Talking about dual purpose thin structures, how hard would it be add a large parabolic antenna (or mirror) that are connected with a truss to the cylinder?
What about the structural stability of a 100mx100m solar array, does the weight/cost calculations include the supporting truss?
Do they scale up with the size of the array and the rotational acceleration?