TRI VALLEY
MARS SOCIETY

Purpose

To design and experimentally validate a pressure-self-energizing joint for modular Martian habitats, converting internal pressure from a separating load that must be resisted by external preload into a force that actively strengthens both locking and sealing.

Significance

Conventional bolted and clamped interfaces treat internal pressure as a force to fight, producing joints that are heavy, mechanically complex, and vulnerable to regolith dust; letting the pressure do the clamping instead opens a path to lightweight, dust-tolerant, reconfigurable habitat infrastructure.

Method

A passive mechanical capture mechanism combined with wedge- or cam-based geometry translates internal pressure into increased normal contact force at the locking and sealing surfaces; scaled prototypes are tested under controlled differential pressure, thermal cycling, and simulated regolith contamination, and scored on four metrics — structural retention, airtightness, thermal bridging, and cyclic durability — against two baselines: a conventional flat-face bolted joint and a passive interlocking joint without pressure assistance.