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1. The Hindenburg disaster was a tragedy that occurred in Frankfurt, Germany at May 6th, 1937. It was when a German passenger airship, called the Hindenburg, suddenly combusted into flames and crashed after an attempt to dock at a military base that is still used today. Of the 97 people that were onboard, 35 people have died.

What happened during the tragedy was when the German passenger ship made a sharp turn that put a lot of stress into the structure, specifically its gas valve that caused hydrogen that was used to keep the airship afloat to leak. Then when the ship attempted to land, the line dropping caused static electricity to ignite the leaking hydrogen. How did this engineering failure happen? Well, there are a lot of theories as to how exactly it happened, but we have to look into how it was designed and what materials were used to build the Hindenburg.

 

The main metal used to construct the German passenger ship was aluminum with a mixture of manganese, copper, magnesium and a little bit of silicate. Lacquer made out of cellulose, iron oxide and aluminum powder was used to hold the structure together. The cloth of the outer ship was a cotton fiber covered in the lacquer to prevent water, UV light, temperature and wind damage. The combustion of the Hindenburg made the materials especially flammable and easily spreadable.

 

I believe the reason for the disaster is due to its materials used to construct the vehicle. According to Professor Halada and his x-ray experiment, the reason that modern aircrafts avoid aluminum alloys is that composite material is much more lightweight and stronger. The aluminum alloy used in the aircraft is 95.75% aluminum, .545% manganese, .245% iron, and 3.46% copper. This could have contributed to the tragedy because when the hydrogen ignited, the temperature weakened the metal structure, causing it to lose form and eventually crash at the military base site. As I have mentioned before, lacquer and cotton fiber have been used on the outer layer of the ship, and those materials are very flammable and have most likely contributed to allowing the flames to spread throughout the ship quickly. Therefore, I believe the materials are the most important cause of the Hindenburg disaster.

2. How are current airships different from historical airships, in terms of materials and design? Describe how understanding the causes of failure of the Hindenburg (and similar ones, such as the failure of the airships Macon or Shenandoah) are helping engineers to create better designs. (at least 400 words)

 

Current airships are different from historical airships in the major difference of materials and design. As stated above, aluminum alloy metal used in aircrafts indicated that the metal sample that Professor Halada has examined is indeed made in the 1930's, because in current aircraft materials, composite metals are the norm of today's society due to its higher strength and lighter weight. The difference between the two is that composites are made from two or more separate materials bonded in such a way as to form one solid piece of material. i.e. steel rods in a concrete matrix. Alloys are mixtures of primarily metal atoms which form a continuous solid solution. i.e. steel, a mixture of iron and carbon. The primary characteristic of alloys is the "solution" bit, and that can and does break down when you look too closely. Essentially though an alloy is a mixture that is more than the sum of its parts, making something new. Iron by itself is soft and ductile, carbon may be weak and powdery, but when carbon dissolves in iron to make steel it becomes harder and stronger. A composite however tends to be more additive, concrete is great in compression and cheap, but fails in tension, while steel is great in tension but expensive. So adding steel rods to concrete results in a structure that is cost effective and better than either alone, but not a mixture. It is still essentially just steel and concrete, just combined in a form that maximizes the benefits of both.

 

The USS Macon had structural damage as it was gaining elevation where the tailfin was ripped out. The fins were connected to the weakest parts of the framework. This was supposed to be corrected by the original designer, however, that would have meant reconstructing the ship and the US Navy overruled his decision.

3. One of the material analysis techniques discussed in the videos was using an x-ray fluorescent gun that would shoot out x-rays into the sample, and the composition of the sample would be detected through the bouncing strength of these rays. This is especially useful for engineers, because failure analysts can examine materials in the course of tragedies and determine if the materials are the cause or one of the causes of failure. This way, engineers can take note of the precedence and make sure to incorporate that in their practices so that future risks can be lessened. For example, there was the Titanic disaster that was mostly due to the framework that contained high amounts of phosphorous and sulfur in the metal. These elements are known to weaken the framework, especially in cold temperatures, and cause the metal to be brittle.


 

Reflection:

I have always heard of the Hindenburg disaster from history classes to physics class to now an engineering class, but the other classes would usually just quickly gloss over the topic. However, in this class, we have gone through the nitty gritty details of how the Hindenburg crashed and burned. What I have gained from learning about this tragedy is that there are always ways to improve something you are creating and using, whether it is a simple utensil or a complicated product like an airship. Aircrafts of back then are basically banned from manufacturing in modern times due to their outdated design and higher risk percentage than modern ships, which I personally do not mind since safety should be prioritized above all else.

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