New Mars Forums

jumpboy11j:

Fair enough    It shouldn't be all that much water anyways as it's just the top.  It would likely requires some support beams, but that shouldn't be a problem.  The weight of the water in the top would be about equivalent to a 42cm layer or cement.  This is quite doable.

BTW, here's an interesting link regarding a new material for radiation protection:
http://www.gizmag.com/demron-lightweigh … suit/9300/

jumpboy11j:

I'm a little wary of the use of water because it's availability is so unknown at this time.  If it does appear to be abundant, then this may work well.  The pressure at the bottom (of the bottom right apartment) would be somewhere near 117 kpa (about 17 psi), which is high.  The 6 million gallon Open Ocean Aquarium at the Georgia Aquarium features a 30ft tall acrylic wall.  It's about 2 feet wide.  The pressure at the bottom would be about 90kpa.  Still 27kpa lower than the 'apartment'.  So I'd also be concerned about how thick the glass would have to be (both layers).  I'm not sure what the safety factor is for the Georgia panel.  It is likely that it is atleast 25% wider than it needs to be.

The pressure would be the same regardless of the size of the gap between the two layers, as it only depends on vertical depth.  Therefore something like this would work best with a zone, shorter apartments, or horizontal coverings (canyon?).

It would be more difficult to design because the inner portion would be in compression and the outer in tension.  Most materials do not have matching strengths in both.  Therefore the thicknesses, and possibly materials may have to differ.  Both would also have to be fixed to one another so one doesn't 'float'.  So very high strength materials would be needed for the connections.  The 'pole' may prove to be enough but I haven't done any calculations.  I'm not sure but I believe the solution of potassium iodide would reduce the freezing point enough that ice would not be a problem (depending on the location of settlement).

Maybe seperating the covering into horizontal compartments would work.  The compartments would not have to carry as much pressure force (as long as they are not stacked) and could possibly be attached to a frame of vertical poles to distribute the weight to the ground.  I think that would work and is probably the best bet.  In that case it would be very practical (other than water scarcity IF it is an issue).  Almost everything I mentioned would no longer be a problem.  If there is damage to a portion it can quickly be replaced without exposing the population to radiation, or having to worry about large amounts of water loss.   

I just noticed you said top in your post.  Not entire shell.  I've been typing for a while though so I figure I'll just submit.  Good job me for being observant... 

louis:

The solid dome makes the design much easier, but for large domes might be a nightmare to excavate.  It may work very well in areas that had been used as open pit mines.  This way most of the excavation would be completed.  Maybe the excavated materials could be converted into construction materials.  The long term plan for mines may be to house future domes.

It drives me mad that we aren't there now... :!:   :x

The designs above are mainly just concepts.  I had thought about covering them with triangular glass panels, but it was a little simpler to simply render them as a continuous plastic piece.

If such plastic coverings were to be manufactured, they could be produced in large sheets.  These could be cut into the appropriate shapes and fused/glued together in a factory, or onsite to enclose the structure.  When finished it would be pressurized and teams would search the interior and seal any leaks.  If they were solid instead of flexible, modern acrylic manufacturing processes may need to be 'extended'.  Two identical pieces could be produced.  Everything would be prefabricated and then assembled onsite

To be honest, I am more in favour of glass.  Plastic seems a waste of hydrogen when there is such an abundance of Si, O, and Fe.

What bothers me about domes is the issue of anchoring them.  There are so many unknowns at this point in time.  I'm thinking the best option might be a combination of the dome weight, and interior anchors weighted down by buildings (attached from top of dome to bottom of structures so concrete remain in compression).  This way little excavation is necessary, and large amounts of cement are not wasted to anchor the dome.  If this is not enough, perimeter anchors may still be necessary.  After all the structural elements are completed, a water proof sealant would be applied over the bedrock and possibly at the edges of the dome.  Otherwise the dome's edges may use a 'pressure seal'.  the perimeter anchors could be attached to a structure other than the dome.  When pressurized the dome will rise slightly, sealing the atmosphere in.  Hopefully that was clear. 

BTW, what kind of domes would produce the least variation in the size of triangular panels?  I'm hoping to only have three steel member and glass panel sizes.  I can't seem to figure out how to do this for larger domes with hundreds or thousands of panels...

I agree with Gregori.  Over the next few years, we will see the prices of LEDs for illumination greatly decrease.  The manufacturing process will likely be perfected by the time large amounts are needed on mars.  Although energy may be plentiful in the first colonies, in the long term it only makes sense to invest in more efficient technologies.

Granted, there may also be a place for incandescent and fluorescent bulbs.  They may be used where both heat and light are necessary (and the lights will constantly be on) such as an artificial light greenhouse.  Maybe even to make up for the lost heat and light during dust storm season.

Thanks again for the response. 

At this point I am not thinking of any region in particular.  It's unfortunate that there are so many things we still don't know about mars.  We won't know the details regarding bedrock until we're there.  That's where I'd like to be right now...

Anyways, I made two more 'apartments' and rendered all three in a scene, so that I could get an idea of what an expanding settlement may look like.

Another aspect of this concept that may be useful is the modularity of the design.  All 'poles' could be made identical.  The radius of every circle is 16m.  The pill and torus may be expanded to any length desired.

BTW, I'm doing a concurrent in structural engineering and planetary science.  Does this seem like a good choice for someone interested in mars?

It was my first post, and I couldn't link to a picture until my second so here it is:

I'll have to check the picture size rules.