Modeling of the Acoustic Response of Payload Bays Within Launch Vehicle Fairings

Abstract

Acoustic shielding treatments are necessary to prevent damage to the payload during launch. This paper discusses three modeling approaches used to analyze the efficacy of such treatments. Results from acoustic modeling studies based on an analytical model, a finite element model, and experimental testing are presented here. Payload bay pressure distributions and frequency response functions are developed using simple two-dimensional scale models. The two-dimensional finite element models demonstrate good agreement with analytical and experimental results and show the potential for three-dimensional full-scale finite element modeling to handle more complex acoustic load conditions.