Rocket Booster Research Articles

Failure mode and effect analysis on safety critical components of space travel

Article history: Received March 25, 2015 Received in revised format 28 March 2015 Accepted 12 May 2015 Available online May 14 2015 Sending men to space has never been an ordinary activity, it requires years of planning and preparation in order to have a chance of success. The payoffs of reliable and repeatable space flight are many, including both Commercial and Military opportunities. In order for reliable and repeatable space flight to become a reality, catastrophic failures need to be detected and mitigated before they occur. It can be shown that small pieces of a design which seem ordinary can create devastating impacts if not designed and tested properly. This paper will address the use of a Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) with modified Risk Priority Number (RPN) and its application to safety critical design components of shuttle liftoff. An example will be presented here which specifically focuses on the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) to illustrate the FMECA approach to reliable space travel. Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 5 © 201

The Pressure Field Measurement for Researching Inducer Flow of Booster Rocket Engine Turbopump

The Pressure Field Measurement for Researching Inducer Flow of Booster Rocket Engine Turbopump

Response of Fiber Reinforced Composite Structures to Ballistic Loads

Explosion and high velocity impact are typical ballistic loads of structures. This paper describes the problem of wave propagation in solid rocket booster part. Such waves originate by acting of explosion waves or by high velocity impact of solid parts on the structure. Computational simulations are applied to the problem of propagation of shock waves in a composite material reinforced by carbon fibres which are supposed to be much stiffer than the matrix. The shock wave in such material is influenced by reflexion and refraction on the interface between fibres and the matrix and by the interaction of then waves. The shock wave is strongly damped in such composites in this way. In the present study, the response of composite laminates under velocity impact loading will be investigated using MATLAB and ABAQUS software.

Replacement of chemical rocket launchers by beamed energy propulsion.

Microwave Rocket is a beamed energy propulsion system that is expected to reach space at drastically lower cost. This cost reduction is estimated by replacing the first-stage engine and solid rocket boosters of the Japanese H-IIB rocket with Microwave Rocket, using a recently developed thrust model in which thrust is generated through repetitively pulsed microwave detonation with a reed-valve air-breathing system. Results show that Microwave Rocket trajectory, in terms of velocity versus altitude, can be designed similarly to the current H-IIB first stage trajectory. Moreover, the payload ratio can be increased by 450%, resulting in launch-cost reduction of 74%.

Acoustic signature characterization of a sub-scale rocket launch

Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) conducted a flight test of a sub-scale rocket in 2013 outside Talladega, Alabama, to acquire the launch acoustics produced. The primary objective of the test was to characterize the acquired data during a sub-scale launch and compare it with heritage launch data from the STS-1 Space Shuttle flight. Neither launch included acoustic suppression; however, there were differences in the ground geometry. STS-1 launched from the Mobile Launch Platform at Pad 39B with the RS-25 liquid engines and Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) firing into their respective exhaust ducts and flame trench, while the GTRI flight test vehicle launched from a flat reflective surface. The GTRI launch vehicle used a properly scaled Solid Rocket Motor (SRM) for propellant; therefore, primary analysis will focus on SRM/SRB centric acoustic events. Differences in the Ignition Overpressure (IOP) wave signature between both due to this will be addressed. Additionally, the classic liftoff acoustics “football shape” is preserved between both full and sub-scale flights. The launch signatures will be compared, with note taken of specific launch acoustic events more easily investigated with sub-scale launch data or supplement current sub-scale static hotfire testing.

Space shuttle SRM field joint: Review paper

Due to Challenger space shuttle accident in 1986, significant research has been done concerning structural behavior of field joints in solid rocket boosters (SRB). The structural deformations between the clevis inner leg and the tang (male-to-female parts of joint), the sealing of the O-ring to prevent the hot gas in joints, has been neglected causing the failure of the vehicle. Redesigning the field joint in SRB engine by accurate analysis of dynamic and thermal loads and by design of insulator and good O-ring, the leakiness of combustion hot gases was eliminated. Some parts of field joint such as capture feature (CF) and its third O-ring, J-leg insulator and shim were added to redesigned field joint. Also, some adjustments in sealing system and pins were done to promote the efficiency of the field joint. Due to different experimental analysis on assembled field joints with default imperfections, redesigned joints operated well. These redesigned field joints are commonly used in aerospace and mechanical structures. This paper investigates the original and the redesigned field joints with additional explanations of different parts of the redesigned joints.

액체로켓 부스터를 부착한 한국형발사체의 발사 성능 분석

A program of launch vehicle performance analysis is composed for the education of the conceptual design of launch vehicles and the requirement analysis for the propulsion system design. The program is applied for the mission analysis of space launch vehicles based on KSLV-II with liquid rocket boosters. The 75-ton class liquid rocket engine is assumed for the boosters by referring the mass ratio of KSLV-II second stage. The launch performance analysis is carried out for KSLV-II with 2, 3 and 4 boosters by targeting the circular orbit of 700 km altitude. The trajectory is assumed as two-dimension considering the variation of the flight environment. Payload of advanced KSLV-II could be increased to maximum 3 tons, though it is limited by the thrust performance of the upper stage.

Large-Eddy Simulations of a Single-Species Solid Rocket Booster Jet

This paper presents the results of large-eddy simulations of a solid rocket booster jet. An inert gas thermodynamically equivalent to the rocket exhaust is injected through the entire nozzle of the booster in the atmosphere at flight conditions of 20 km of altitude. A local time-stepping method via coupling multi-instances of a fluid solver is used to extend the computational domain up to 400 nozzle exit diameters. The mean flow and the turbulence statistics of the resulting supersonic coflowing jet are analyzed. The structure of the flow is identified, and important features show good agreement with other studies. In particular, the potential core length is consistent with previous analysis, whereas in the far field, the decay rate of axial velocity and the jet spreading rate are consistent with those of incompressible coflowing jets. Reynolds stresses profiles and turbulence scales, evaluated via two-point velocity correlations, are coherent with available data from high-speed jets. This study proves that the methodology applied for this single-species jet is efficient and reliable. Therefore, it can be directly used for large-eddy simulations of a booster jet that model the complex chemistry occurring in the plume.

Orbital Insertion Control of a Three-stage Solid Rocket Booster Modeled in Six degrees-of-freedom

How to model the orbital insertion of a payload in a high fidelity simulation is summarized in this paper. Though executed frequently in real time, actual flight software is inaccessible to a broader audience, and too complex for analytical studies. For exploratory trade studies of a three-stage solid rocket booster, the ascent guidance law is derived from first principles and embedded in an open-source six degrees-of-freedom simulation. This simulation, known by the acronym ROCKET6, is based on the C++ simulation framework CADAC++. It models, at high fidelity, aerodynamics, propulsion, autopilot, guidance, INS, GPS and star-tracker, while introducing real world atmospheric effects like wind and turbulence. The ascent of a typical booster from Vandenberg AFB, CA, is presented as test case and the results of 100 Monte Carlo runs are documented. The stochastic post-run analysis shows accurate insertion performance.

The Space Mission Design Example Using LEO Bolos

Four sample space launch missions were designed using rotating momentum transfer tethers (bolos) within low Earth orbit and a previously unknown phenomenon of “aerospinning” was identified and simulated. The momentum transfer tethers were found to be only marginally more efficient than the use of chemical rocket boosters. Insufficient power density of modern spacecrafts was identified as the principal inhibitory factor for tether usage as a means of launch-assistance, with power densities at least 10 W/kg required for effective bolos operation.

Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor Plume Pressure and Heat Rate Measurements

The solid rocket booster main flame deflector at NASA Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A was instrumented to measure heat rates, pressures, and temperatures on the final three space shuttle launches. Because the solid rocket booster plume is hot and erosive, a robust tungsten piston calorimeter was developed to compliment measurements made by off-the-shelf sensors. Witness materials were installed, and their melting and erosion response to the Mach 2, 4000°F, 4 s duration plume was observed. The data show that the specification used for the design of the main flame deflector thermal protection system overpredicts heat rates by a factor of three and underpredicts pressures by a factor of two. The discovery of short-duration heating spikes that occur when aluminum oxide slag solidifies on the main flame deflector explains this heat rate overprediction. This study allows improvement of solid rocket motor launch site and test stand computational fluid dynamics models and the concomitant slag deposition heat transfer models.

Book Review: The Hipparcos Satellite, the Making of History's Greatest Star Map

THE HIPPARCOS SATELLITE The Making of History's Greatest Star Map. Michael Perryman (Springer, Berlin, 2010). Pp. xii + 282. euro30. ISBN 978-3-642-1 1602-5.The core of this book, by the science director of the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, consists of a prologue and chapters 5 to 10. These chapters explain how truly remarkable the Hipparcos mission was, and they explain it well.In the prologue Perryman describes the day of the launch, in 1989 at Kourou in French Guyana, and well captures the tension before, relief after, and excitement throughout the launch of a satellite. Many years of work hung in the balance during the hazardous process of boosting the satellite into orbit. The launch apparently was successful, but a massive setback lay in wait as the booster rocket failed to bring the satellite into a geostationary circular orbit. Many considered the mission lost. But here Perryman and his European Space Agency colleagues experienced their finest hour as they not only salvaged the mission in a very few months, by reprogramming both observations and analysis, but brought it to the initially planned level of accuracy.Remarkably, the ESA had decided to build a satellite for a branch of astronomy that was on the verge of extinction: astrometry. Perryman explains how HIPPARCOS happened in the nick of time. A decade later the field of astrometry would have shrunk into oblivion, as its practitioners aged and were not replaced with young astronomers.A small number of French astronomers initiated the concept and gradually involved a very large number of astronomers directly in the preparation of the Hipparcos mission. This group prepared the observation list, aha the Hipparcos Input Catalogue, with positions to 1 arcsec accuracy for some 120,000 stars. Even before its launch, Hipparcos had produced by far the most accurate large star catalogue!With several hundred measurements for each of 120,000 stars, an enormous system of equations had to be solved. This problem was considered sufficiently complicated that two teams were assembled to independently derive the star positions and proper motions (and for many, binary motions). When Hipparcos was conceived, the computers able to do this did not exist. After the end of the mission the two teams took several years (according to plan) to agree on the one final catalogue, which appeared in 16 volumes of print, plus 1 volume holding a completely new medium for data, CDROMs.Well into the satellite design phase, Erik H0g pointed out that data from the satellite attitude detectors could be used to produce a catalogue of two-and-a-half million stars, less accurate than the main catalogue, but still a large improvement on existing catalogues. …

지구 재진입체의 특성에 따른 재진입사례 및 생존특성 분석

1957년 10월 4일 인류최초의 위성 스푸트니크1호가 발사된 이래로 지구저궤도에서 대기권으로 재진입하는 물체의 양은 지속적으로 증가해왔다. 대부분의 재진입체들은 공력가열에 의해 타버려 생존하기 어렵다. 그러나 단 하나의 물체라도 지표면으로 떨어질 경우 인명 및 재산피해를 유발할 수 있다. 우주활동의 부산물로 발생하는 폐기위성, 로켓부스터, 압력탱크, 폐기우주정거장 등 지구에 재진입하는 물체는 꾸준히 늘어왔다. 대부분의 재진입체는 고도 50km~80km에서 소각되고 10%~40% 가량이 살아남아 지상으로 추락한다. 따라서 본 논문은 다양한 사례를 종합하여 재진입체의 생존특성을 분석하였다. The amount of object which reenter the Earth's atmosphere has been increasing after the Sputnik I launch in October 1957. Most of reentry objects were incinerated by aerodynamic heating so they hardly survive. But they may incur casualties and widespread property damages if they survive and fall to surface. The amount of reentry objects, such as Satellite, Rocket Booster, Pressure Tank, ISS shows continued growth as byproduct of space activities. Most of the re-entry objects are incinerated at between altitude of 50km~80km and 10%~40% of the objects are surviving and falling to the ground. Therefore, this paper try to piece together the reentry event and analysis the survival characteristics of re-entry object.

Method for Optimally Controlling Unsteady Shock Strength in One Dimension

This paper presents a new formulation and computational solution of an optimal control problem concerning unsteady shock wave attenuation. The adjoint system of equations for the unsteady Euler system in one dimension is derived and used in an adjoint-based solution procedure for the optimal control. A novel algorithm is used to satisfy all necessary first-order optimality conditions while locally minimizing an appropriate cost functional. Distributed control solutions with certain physical constraints are calculated for attenuating blast waves similar to those generated by ignition overpressure from the shuttle’s solid rocket booster during launch. Results are presented for attenuating shocks traveling at Mach 1.5 and 3.5 down to 85%, 80%, and 75% of the uncontrolled wave’s driving pressure. The control solutions give insight into the magnitude and location of energy dissipation necessary to decrease a given blast wave’s overpressure to a set target level over a given spatial domain while using only as much control as needed. The solution procedure is sufficiently flexible such that it can be used to solve other optimal control problems constrained by partial differential equations that admit discontinuities and have fixed initial data and free final data at a free final time.

FE Analysis of Contact Pressure Prediction on O-Rings Used in Solid Rocket Booster Segment Joints

This paper presents an analysis to predict the gap and contact pressure existence in segment joint used in Solid Rocket Boosters using 3-D finite element (FE) as a general nonlinear problem. The relevant components, the tang, the clevis and pin are modeled individually and assembled. The FE modeling includes O-Rings as integral part of joint, which brings out the deformation of seals and contact pressure (CP) between O-Rings and the casings as a function of external loads. The general purpose FE package ABAQUS for analysis and HYPERMESH for preand postprocessing are employed. The CP between the O-Rings and the slot walls in the joint depends very much on the material properties. The initial CP induced during assembly of segments is higher for lower ambient temperatures and lower for higher temperatures.

Unified Analysis of Internal Flowfield in an Integrated Rocket Ramjet Engine. I: Transition from Rocket Booster to Ramjet Sustainer

AbstractA comprehensive numerical analysis was conducted to study the internal flow development in an integrated rocket-ramjet (IRR) propulsion system. The study consists of two parts: transition from the rocket booster to the ramjet sustainer and combustion dynamics during ramjet operation. The physical model of concern includes the entire IRR flow path, extending from the leading edge of the inlet center body through the exhaust nozzle. The theoretical formulation is based on the Farve-averaged conservation equations of mass, momentum, energy, and species concentration in axisymmetric coordinates and accommodates finite-rate chemical kinetics and variable thermophysical properties. Turbulence closure is achieved using a low-Reynolds-number κ-e two-equation model. The governing equations are solved numerically by means of a finite-volume preconditioned flux-differencing scheme capable of treating a chemically reacting flow over a wide range of Mach numbers. Various important physiochemical processes invo...

Transformation products of 1,1-dimethylhydrazine and their distribution in soils of fall places of rocket carriers in Central Kazakhstan

In our research, three fall places of first stages of Proton rockets have been studied for the presence and distribution of transformation products of 1,1-dimethylhydrazine (1,1-DMH). Results of identification of transformation products of 1,1-DMH in real soil samples polluted due to rocket fuel spills allowed to detect 18 earlier unknown metabolites of 1,1-DMH being formed only under field conditions. According to the results of quantitative analyses, maximum concentrations of 1-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole made up 57.3, 44.9 and 13.3mgkg−1, of 1-ethyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole — 5.45, 3.66 and 0.66mgkg−1, of 1,3-dimethyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole - 24.0, 17.8 and 4.9mgkg−1 in fall places 1, 2 and 3, respectively. 4-Methyl-4H-1,2,4-triazole was detected only in fall places 2 and 3 where its maximum concentrations made up 4.2 and 0.66mgkg−1, respectively. The pollution of soils with transformation products of 1,1-DMH was only detected in epicenters of fall places having a diameter of 8 to10m where rocket boosters landed. The results of a detailed study of distribution of 1,1-DMH transformation products along the soil profile indicate that transformation products can migrate down to the depth of 120cm, The highest concentrations of 1,1-DMH transformation products were detected, as a rule, at the depth 20 to 60cm. However, this index can vary depending on the compound, humidity and physical properties of soil, landscape features and other conditions. In the surface layer, as a rule, only semi-volatile products of transformation were detected which was caused by fast evaporation and biodegradation of volatile metabolites.

Neural Networks Combined with Importance Sampling Techniques for Reliability Evaluation of Explosive Initiating Device

Concerning the issue of high-dimensions and low-failure probabilities including implicit and highly nonlinear limit state function, reliability analysis based on the directional importance sampling in combination with the radial basis function (RBF) neural network is used, and the RBF neural network based on first-order reliability method (FORM) is to approximate the unknown implicit limit state functions and calculate the most probable point (MPP) with iterative algorithm. For good efficiency, based on the ideas that directional sampling reduces dimensionality and importance sampling focuses on the domain contributing to failure probability, the joint probability density function of importance sampling is constructed, and the sampling center is moved to MPP to ensure that more random sample points draw belong to the failure domain and the simulation efficiency is improved. Then the numerical example of initiating explosive devices for rocket booster explosive bolts demonstrates the applicability, versatility and accuracy of the approach compared with other reliability simulation algorithm.

Observational Analysis of Sudden Tropical Cyclone Track Changes in the Vicinity of the East China Sea

Abstract An observational analysis of observed sudden typhoon track changes is conducted with a focus on the underlying mechanism and the possible role of slowly varying low-frequency flows. Four typhoons that took a generally northwestward track prior to sharply turning northeastward in the vicinity of the East China Sea are investigated. It is found that the sudden track changes occurred near the center of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO)-scale cyclonic circulation or at the bifurcation point of the steering flows at 700 hPa, and they were all associated with a well-developed quasi-biweekly oscillation (QBW)-scale gyre. Calculation of vorticity advection suggests that the peripheral ridging resulting from the interaction between the typhoons and the flows on the MJO and QBW scales can compress the typhoon circulation, leading to an area of high winds to the east or south of the typhoon center. The enhanced synoptic-scale winds shifted the typhoons northward and placed them in a northeastward orbit under the steering of the flows associated with the Pacific subtropical high. The sudden track change can be likened to the maneuvering of satellite orbit change in that the enhanced synoptic-scale winds act as a booster rocket to shift the typhoons northward to the southwesterly steering flows.

Hull Slamming

This report presents an in-depth review of the current state of knowledge on hull slamming, which is one of several types of slamming problems to be considered in the design and operation of ships. Hull slamming refers to the impact of the hull or a section of the hull as it reenters the water. It can be considered to be part of a larger class of water entry problems that include the water landing of spacecraft and solid rocket boosters, the water landing and ditching of aircraft, ballistic impacts on fuel tanks, and other applications. The problem involves the interaction of a structure with a fluid that has a free surface. Significant simplifications can be achieved by considering a two-dimensional cross section of simple shape (wedge, cone, sphere, and cylinder) and by assuming that the structure is a rigid body. The water is generally modeled as an incompressible, irrotational, inviscid fluid. Two approximate solutions developed by von Karman (1929, “The Impact on Seaplane Floats During Landing,” NACA Technical Note NACA-TN-32) and Wagner (1932, “Uber stoss und Gleitvorgange an der Oberache von Flussigkeiten,” Z. Angew. Math. Mech., 12, pp. 192–215) can be used to predict the motion of the body, the hydrodynamic force, and the pressure distribution on the wetted surface of the body. Near the intersection with the initial water surface, water piles up, a jet is formed, and the solution has a singularity in this region. It was shown that nearly half of the kinetic energy transferred from the solid to the fluid is contained in this jet, the rest being stored in the bulk of the fluid. A number of complicating factors are considered, including oblique or asymmetric impacts, elastic deformations, and more complex geometries. Other marine applications are considered as well as applications in aerospace engineering. Emphasis is placed on basic principles and analytical solutions as an introduction to this topic, but numerical approaches are needed to address practical problems, so extensive references to numerical approaches are also given.