Structural Analysis and Strain Monitoring of the Filament Wound Motor Case

Abstract

Filament wound structures such as pressure tanks, pipes and motor cases of rockets are widely used in aerospace applications. The determination of a proper winding angle and thickness is very important to decrease manufacturing difficulties and to increase structural efficiency. In this study, possible winding angles considering the slippage between a fiber and a mandrel surface are calculated using the semi-geodesic path equation. In addition, finite element analyses using ABAQUS are performed to predict the behavior of filament wound structures considering continuous change of the winding angle and thickness at the dome part due to fiber built-up near the metallic boss. Water-pressuring tests of a third stage motor case are performed to verify the analysis procedure. The strain gages are attached on the surface in the fiber direction. Progressive failure analysis predicted the burst pressure a little bit higher than the experiment and the weakest region of the motor case very well. The effect of reinforcement is also studied to increase its performance.