Development of aero-vibro acoustics methods for predicting acoustic environment inside payload fairing at lift-off

Abstract

Prediction of harmful acoustic loading to payloads inside launcher fairing due to intense acoustic wave generated from propulsion systems at lift-off is an important design issue. Aero-vibro acoustics method developed in this study for predicting the acoustic loading consists of four elements. Hydrodynamics of jet flowfield generating aeroacoustic wave is computed by the high-fidelity Large-Eddy simulation. Computational aeroacoustics based on the full Euler equations is conducted to simulate propagating acoustic wave from the jet to the payload fairing. Then, finite element method is applied to simulate the structural vibration that radiates acoustic wave inside the fairing. Finally, acoustic behavior inside the payload fairing is also computed by the finite element method. An overview of the methods and recent work for validation and verification will be presented.