http://www.cockeyed.com/inside/foam/foam.html

"Zoltan Szakaly" wrote in message
om...
When I looked at the video of how they simulated the foam block
colliding with the reinforced carbon carbon leading edge of the
shuttle, I noticed that behind the leading edge (which is a thin sheet
of RCC) there was nothing.

Isn't this highly irresponsible, in other words stupid? Any
homebuilder of kit airplanes knows that filling the cavity with foam
would greatly enhance the strength of the leading edge without
increasing the weight of the structure. The carbon fibers comprising
the composite sheet are strong in tension/compression but can be bent.
This lack of support from the inside was the direct cause of the hole
that the foam block punched in it.

Zoltan


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