[AR] Re: Rocket Test Location Requirements
- From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:52:31 -0500 (EST)
(catching up on some old mail...)
On Wed, 16 Nov 2016, Graham Sortino wrote:
>> You either use concrete or metal for anything LOX is happening over.
>> Never do anything over asphalt...
Thanks + understood. I was thinking more about what the effect of spilling
LOX would be inside the steel container. I understand that steel becomes
brittle at low temperatures but I wasn't sure about any possible
fire/explosion hazards if this were to occur.
Steel -- even stainless -- will burn in LOX, but it doesn't get started
all that easily. Yes, ordinary carbon steel becomes brittle at low
temperatures (sometimes not even that low), so you do want to avoid
relying on steel structure or containment where it could come into contact
with LOX. The usual problem with having steel go brittle and break,
though, is just where does the LOX then go and what will it then
encounter. In a shipping container, I'd worry much more about how clean
the container floor is (especially whether there's grease or oil or fuel
residue on it), and what's underneath it if it cracks, than about the
possibility that the floor would ignite.
Henry
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