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#51 2026-02-16 09:51:44
- SpaceNut
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- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
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Re: Ring Habitat on Mars Doughnut Torus
surprise we are still in the same range for material mass whether its the 304L or the Austenitic High-Manganese Steel: roughly 1,000 tons for the same tubing dimensions
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#52 2026-02-16 16:34:19
- kbd512
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- Registered: 2015-01-02
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Re: Ring Habitat on Mars Doughnut Torus
SpaceNut,
Was there any mass reduction at all?
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#53 2026-02-16 19:09:43
- SpaceNut
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- Registered: 2004-07-22
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Re: Ring Habitat on Mars Doughnut Torus
There may have been a bit but not any thing that mattered.
I am going to think of another plan to build with the fabric, and regolith but targeting just 100 so that it can be repeated as many times as we need. Once its got air in it and not losing it we may be able to do counter pressure with more materials on the out side with more fabric and regolith. Interlocking the tiers for a finished shape.
I will create a new topic later
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#54 2026-02-16 20:13:18
- kbd512
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Re: Ring Habitat on Mars Doughnut Torus
SpaceNut,
Maybe we are better off using impermeable fabric and regolith bags only. There's no significant upper limit to the size of inflatable structures here on Earth.
Take note of the size of the human standing to the left of this structure:
Look at how tiny the cranes are next to this inflatable:
If we can pressurize and fill with regolith dust for structural support and radiation protection, then the habitat should still be there a century from now. That ought to provide sufficient time for Iron mining and smelting for steel construction.
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#55 Yesterday 15:21:41
- SpaceNut
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- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
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Re: Ring Habitat on Mars Doughnut Torus
I went back in on a clean sheet and organized the Hesco wall thickness and height for the dome exoskeleton to fit around leaving it to tell me the tubing OD and thickness. When its doing dead mass support for the regolith shield. Its response was 100mm OD at 5mm wall thickness.
Since the lengths are fresh and not long enough for the cross members that means we are welding butt to butt, bending and then cutting for full length. This means waste materials not useable of the order of 10-15% for use even for making each piece count.
The mass for the exoskeleton for the Austenitic High-Manganese Steel: comes in over 890mT.
Of course the dual 30mm OD that is 4mm thick is recycled so there is no waste and the amount of lengths can be made without butt welds.
which came in at a bit less coming in at 860 mT.
The issue for both is the mass of the regolith that does not distribute the load into the Hesco barrier wall as the bags are not changing shape of compressed amounts with in them such that they shift and slide and are not like a solid wall.
I looked at wrapping like a woven basket in and around the bags which it helps to keep things less drifty.
Looked at no dome but using a framing for the vertran fabric to form the inflatable using the impregnated to form the inflatable with each layer of the Hesco barrier wall having its mass pushing down on its as it wraps around each course to provide the tension. Building each layer of bags continuing to do the same as the wall rises.
Then once its inflated we begin to build concentric rings of regolith with the woven strip holding as before that was used in the wall. It keeps the mass of the regolith load shifting to the wall and not the inflatable under it.
I also looked at how to make the regolith more solid plus bagged shape. It requires us to mix the low temperature binder and mix it with the regolith compacting the contents of the bag before heating within the shape mold that continues to compress while it heats. The you allow it to cool before moving.
The thermoplastics powder was used as the binder which was mixed in in ratio of for building a 30 m diameter dome. The percentage from 10% - 15% means bringing 10 mt to 30 mT that melt at in the 80'C to 130'C. This makes for a better build as we go.
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