Effect of concentrated mass on stability of cantilevers under rocket thrust

Abstract

The paper describes the effect of an intermediate concentrated mass on the dynamic stability of cantilevered columns subjected to a rocket thrust. It is assumed that the rocket thrust is produced by the installation of a solid rocket motor at the tip end of the cantilevered columns having the intermediate mass. The rocket motor is assumed to be a rigid body having finite sizes but not a mass point. The importance of the magnitude and size of the intermediate mass is demonstrated by theory and experiment. The experimental results are compared with theoretical predictions made by taking into account the mass and size of the rocket motor as well as intermediate mass effect. The internal damping was neglected in the theoretical predictions. It is shown that theoretical stability predictions and experimental flutter limits agreed well.