Computational study on rocket payload fairing

Abstract

The payload fairing is a protective clamshell that protects the payload and the third stage during the early stages of the boost phase, when the atmosphere's aerodynamic forces may have an impact. There would be stresses, strains, aerodynamic forces, deformation, and vibrations that can be acting on the rockets as they move through space or above the earth's high-density atmosphere. As a result, it's critical to use fairing to protect the payload on board. They protect the payload from the effects of aerodynamics, deformation, and vibration. This paper presents a computational study on the rocket payload fairing using CATIA V5 software for modeling and analysis. The objective is to analyze the structural and aerodynamic performance of the fairing under specific boundary conditions. The considered boundary conditions include a velocity of 1000 m/s, pressure of 0.4 MPa, area of 72.331 m2, and temperature of 220 K.The study employs finite element analysis to evaluate the structural response of the fairing. The convergence of the numerical solution is assessed using absolute criteria for various governing equations, including continuity and velocities in the x, y, and z directions.