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At least 343 records · Page 19

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NASA NTRS1987

Structural optimization of an alternate design for the space shuttle solid rocket booster field joint

A structural optimization procedure is used to determine the shape of an alternate design for the shuttle solid rocket booster field joint. In contrast to the tang and clevis design of the existing joint, this alternate design consists of two flanges bolted together. Configurations with 150 studs of 1 1/8 in. diameter and 135 studs of 1 3/16 in. diameter are considered. Using a nonlinear programming procedure, the joint weight is minimized under constraints on either von Mises or maximum normal stresses, joint opening and geometry. The procedure solves the design problem by replacing it by a sequence of approximate (convex) subproblems; the pattern of contact between the joint halves is determined every few cycles by a nonliner displacement analysis. The minimum weight design has 135 studs of 1 3/16 in. diameter and is designed under constraints on normal stresses. It weighs 1144 lb per joint more than the current tang and clevis design.

Barthelemy, J.-F. M.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Space Shuttle Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor nozzle natural frequency variations with burn time

The effects of erosion and thermal degradation on the Space Shuttle Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) nozzle's structural dynamic characteristics were analytically evaluated. Also considered was stiffening of the structure due to internal pressurization. A detailed NASTRAN finite element model of the nozzle was developed and used to evaluate the influence of these effects at several discrete times during motor burn. Methods were developed for treating erosion and thermal degradation, and a procedure was developed to account for internal pressure stiffening using differential stiffness matrix techniques. Results were verified using static firing test accelerometer data. Fast Fourier Transform and Maximum Entropy Method techniques were applied to the data to generate waterfall plots which track modal frequencies with burn time. Results indicate that the lower frequency nozzle 'vectoring' modes are only slightly affected by erosion, thermal effects and internal pressurization. The higher frequency shell modes of the nozzle are, however, significantly reduced.

Lui, C. Y.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Numerical analysis of ignition transients in solid rocket motors

A model to analyze the unstready multidimensional turbulent flow in the head-end, star slot section of a solid rocket motor during the ignition transient is developed. The present paper examines the fluid dynamic aspects of the starting transient. A finite-difference solution of the unsteady, compressible, full Navier-Stokes equations, together with a two-equation k-epsilon turbulence model, is obtained utilizing the MacCormack explicit, predictor-corrector technique. Computed results for the flow in the slot are compared with experimental data obtained in cold flow tests of a scaled model of the Space Shuttle SRM head-end, star grain section. The agreement between the calculated flowfield and existing experimental data is very good.

Ciucci, A.↗

NASA NTRS1993

The effect of nonsymmetric pressure stiffness on the dynamic characteristics of Solid Rocket Motors

This paper discusses the effect of pressure on the dynamics of pre-stiffened structures such as the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM). Previous work in which the stiffness terms resulting from constant pressure were derived has been extended to enable modeling of nonconstant pressure applied over nonenclosed volumes. These conditions will result in nonsymmetric terms in the global stiffness matrix which will not cancel out. Three new pressure stiffness elements incorporating these nonsymmetric terms have been implemented as dummy elements in COSMIC NASTRAN and have been tested on various simple examples as well as an existing ASRM NASTRAN finite element model. The results indicate that for all load cases of practical interest to the ASRM program, the nonsymmetric terms have very little effect on the dynamic characteristics. In addition, the pressure stiffness elements developed in the previous work which assumed constant pressure gave virtually the same results as the new elements even for problems in which the pressures are not constant. The original elements appear to work well as long as the pressure gradient across any individual element is no larger than about 0.75 psi/inch. The new elements are therefore most useful for determining the conditions under which the original pressure stiffness elements can be used.

Christensen, Eric R.↗

NASA NTRS1999

The 260: The Largest Solid Rocket Motor Ever Tested

Aerojet in the mid 1960s, under contract to NASA, built and static hot fire tested the largest solid rocket motor (SRM) in history for the purpose of demonstrating the feasibility of utilizing large SRMs for space exploration. This program successfully fabricated two high strength steel chambers, loaded each with approximately 1,68 million pounds of propellant, and static test fired these giants with their nozzles up from an underground silo located adjacent to the Florida everglades. Maximum thrust and total impulse in excess of 5,000,000 lbf and 3,470,000,000 lbf-sec were achieved. Flames from the second firing, conducted at night, were seen over eighty miles away. For comparative purposes: the thrust developed was nearly 100 times that of a Minuteman III second stage and the 260 in.-dia cross-section was over 3 times that of the Space Shuttle SRM.

Crimmins, P.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Thermal Fault Tolerance Analysis of Carbon Fiber Rope Barrier Systems for Use in the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor ( RSRM) Nozzle Joints

Carbon Fiber Rope (CFR) thermal barrier systems are being considered for use in several RSRM (Reusable Solid Rocket Motor) nozzle joints as a replacement for the current assembly gap close-out process/design. This study provides for development and test verification of analysis methods used for flow-thermal modeling of a CFR thermal barrier subject to fault conditions such as rope combustion gas blow-by and CFR splice failure. Global model development is based on a 1-D (one dimensional) transient volume filling approach where the flow conditions are calculated as a function of internal 'pipe' and porous media 'Darcy' flow correlations. Combustion gas flow rates are calculated for the CFR on a per-linear inch basis and solved simultaneously with a detailed thermal-gas dynamic model of a local region of gas blow by (or splice fault). Effects of gas compressibility, friction and heat transfer are accounted for the model. Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) solutions of the fault regions are used to characterize the local flow field, quantify the amount of free jet spreading and assist in the determination of impingement film coefficients on the nozzle housings. Gas to wall heat transfer is simulated by a large thermal finite element grid of the local structure. The employed numerical technique loosely couples the FE (Finite Element) solution with the gas dynamics solution of the faulted region. All free constants that appear in the governing equations are calibrated by hot fire sub-scale test. The calibrated model is used to make flight predictions using motor aft end environments and timelines. Model results indicate that CFR barrier systems provide a near 'vented joint' style of pressurization. Hypothetical fault conditions considered in this study (blow by, splice defect) are relatively benign in terms of overall heating to nozzle metal housing structures.

Clayton, J. Louie↗

NASA NTRS2006

Qualification Testing of Solid Rocket Booster Diagonal Strut Restraint Cable Assembly Part Number 10176-0031-102/103

This Technical Memorandum presents qualification test results for solid rocket booster diagonal strut restraint cable part number 101276-00313-102/103. During flight this assembly is exposed to a range of temperatures. MIL-W-83420 shows the breaking strength of the cable as 798 kg (1,760 lb) at room temperature but does not define cable strength at the maximum temperature to which the cable is exposed during the first 2 min of flight; 669 C (1,236 F). The cable, which can be built from different corrosion resistant steel alloys, may also vary in its chemical, physical, and mechanical properties at temperature. Negative margins of safety were produced by analysis of the cable at temperature using standard knockdown factors. However, MSFC-HDBK-5 allows the use of a less conservative safety factor of 1.4 and knockdown factors verified by testing. Test results allowed a calculated knockdown factor of 0.1892 to be determined for the restraint cables, which provides a minimum breaking strength of 151 kg (333 lb) at 677 C (1,250 F) when combined with the minimum breaking strength of 0.317-cm (0.125- or 1/8-in) diameter, type 1 composition rope.

Malone, T. W.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Development of an On-board Failure Diagnostics and Prognostics System for Solid Rocket Booster

We develop a case breach model for the on-board fault diagnostics and prognostics system for subscale solid-rocket boosters (SRBs). The model development was motivated by recent ground firing tests, in which a deviation of measured time-traces from the predicted time-series was observed. A modified model takes into account the nozzle ablation, including the effect of roughness of the nozzle surface, the geometry of the fault, and erosion and burning of the walls of the hole in the metal case. The derived low-dimensional performance model (LDPM) of the fault can reproduce the observed time-series data very well. To verify the performance of the LDPM we build a FLUENT model of the case breach fault and demonstrate a good agreement between theoretical predictions based on the analytical solution of the model equations and the results of the FLUENT simulations. We then incorporate the derived LDPM into an inferential Bayesian framework and verify performance of the Bayesian algorithm for the diagnostics and prognostics of the case breach fault. It is shown that the obtained LDPM allows one to track parameters of the SRB during the flight in real time, to diagnose case breach fault, and to predict its values in the future. The application of the method to fault diagnostics and prognostics (FD&P) of other SRB faults modes is discussed.

Smelyanskiy, Vadim N.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Reusable Solid Rocket Motor - V(RSRMV)Nozzle Forward Nose Ring Thermo-Structural Modeling

During the developmental static fire program for NASAs Reusable Solid Rocket Motor-V (RSRMV), an anomalous erosion condition appeared on the nozzle Carbon Cloth Phenolic nose ring that had not been observed in the space shuttle RSRM program. There were regions of augmented erosion located on the bottom of the forward nose ring (FNR) that measured nine tenths of an inch deeper than the surrounding material. Estimates of heating conditions for the RSRMV nozzle based on limited char and erosion data indicate that the total heat loading into the FNR, for the new five segment motor, is about 40-50% higher than the baseline shuttle RSRM nozzle FNR. Fault tree analysis of the augmented erosion condition has lead to a focus on a thermomechanical response of the material that is outside the existing experience base of shuttle CCP materials for this application. This paper provides a sensitivity study of the CCP material thermo-structural response subject to the design constraints and heating conditions unique to the RSRMV Forward Nose Ring application. Modeling techniques are based on 1-D thermal and porous media calculations where in-depth interlaminar loading conditions are calculated and compared to known capabilities at elevated temperatures. Parameters such as heat rate, in-depth pressures and temperature, degree of char, associated with initiation of the mechanical removal process are quantified and compared to a baseline thermo-chemical material removal mode. Conclusions regarding postulated material loss mechanisms are offered.

Clayton, J. Louie↗

NASA NTRS2008

Crew Launch Vehicle Mobile Launcher Solid Rocket Motor Plume Induced Environment

The plume-induced environment created by the Ares 1 first stage, five-segment reusable solid rocket motor (RSRMV) will impose high heating rates and impact pressures on Launch Complex 39. The extremes of these environments pose a potential threat to weaken or even cause structural components to fail if insufficiently designed. Therefore the ability to accurately predict these environments is critical to assist in specifying structural design requirements to insure overall structural integrity and flight safety. This paper presents the predicted thermal and pressure environments induced by the launch of the Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) from Launch Complex (LC) 39. Once the environments are predicted, a follow-on thermal analysis is required to determine the surface temperature response and the degradation rate of the materials. An example of structures responding to the plume-induced environment will be provided.

Vu, Bruce T.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Reentry aerodynamic characteristics of a space shuttle solid rocket booster model 449 tested in MSFC 14 by 14 inch TWT (SA26F)

Force tests of a 0.563 percent scale space shuttle solid rocket booster (SRB) model, MSFC Model 449, were conducted at the Marshall Space Flight Center 14 x 14 inch Trisonic Wind Tunnel. There were a total of 134 runs (pitch polars) made. Test Mach numbers were 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, 1.96, 2.74, 3.48, 4.00, 4.45, and 4.96; test angles of attack ranged from minus 10 degrees to 190 degrees; test Reynolds numbers ranged from 4.9 million per foot to 7.1 million per foot; and test roll angles were 0, 45, 90, and 135 degrees. The model was tested with three different engine nozzle/skirts. Two of these engine configurations differed from each other in the magnitude of the volume inside the nozzle and skirt. The third engine configuration had part of the nozzle removed. The model was tested with an electrical tunnel in combination with separation rockets of two different heights.

Johnson, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Solid rocket booster thermal radiation model. Volume 2: User's manual

A user's manual was prepared for the computer program of a solid rocket booster (SRB) thermal radiation model. The following information was included: (1) structure of the program, (2) input information required, (3) examples of input cards and output printout, (4) program characteristics, and (5) program listing.

Lee, A. L.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Drogue parachute deployment dynamics of the space shuttle solid rocket booster

Theoretical analysis and experimental investigations are presented for two deployment concepts of the drogue parachute deployment for the space shuttle solid rocket booster. The analysis represents the motion of three coupled rigid bodies, with one of the bodies having variable mass and moment of inertia. The unfurling process of the parachute from the bag is idealized as the flow of a continuum out of a control surface. The pilot parachute or tethered nose cap is modeled as a flexible pendulum with a nonlinear spring and a moving support. Measured wind tunnel test data compare reasonably well with the theory.

Banerjee, A. K.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Solid rocket booster thrust vector control subsystem test report (D-1)

The results of the sequence of tests performed on the space shuttle solid rocket booster thrust vector control subsystem are presented. The operational characteristics of the thrust vector control subsystem components, as determined from the tests, are discussed. Special analyses of fuel consumption, basic steady state characteristics, GN2 spin, and actuator displacement were reviewed which will aid in understanding the performance of the auxiliary power unit. The possibility of components malfunction is also discussed.

Pagan, B.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Hydrochloric acid aerosol and gaseous hydrogen chloride partitioning in a cloud contaminated by solid rocket exhaust

Partitioning of hydrogen chloride between hydrochloric acid aerosol and gaseous HCl in the lower atmosphere was experimentally investigated in a solid rocket exhaust cloud diluted with humid ambient air. Airborne measurements were obtained of gaseous HCl, total HCl, relative humidity and temperature to evaluate the conditions under which aerosol formation occurs in the troposphere in the presence of hygroscopic HCl vapor. Equilibrium predictions of HCl aerosol formation accurately predict the measured HCl partitioning over a range of total HCl concentrations from 0.6 to 16 ppm.

Sebacher, D. I.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Preflight transient dynamic analyses of B-52 aircraft carrying Space Shuttle solid rocket booster drop-test vehicle

This paper concerns the transient dynamic analysis of the B-52 aircraft carrying the Space Shuttle solid rocket booster drop test vehicle (SRB/DTV). The NASA structural analysis (NASTRAN) finite element computer program was used in the analysis. The B-52 operating conditions considered for analysis were (1) landing and (2) braking on aborted takeoff runs. The transient loads for the B-52 pylon front and rear hooks were calculated. The results can be used to establish the safe maneuver envelopes for the B-52 carrying the SRB/DTV in landings and brakings.

Ko, W. L.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Water impact test of aft skirt end ring, and mid ring segments of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster

The results of water impact loads tests using aft skirt end ring, and mid ring segments of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) are examined. Dynamic structural response data is developed and an evaluation of the model in various configurations is presented. Impact velocities are determined for the SRB with the larger main chute system. Various failure modes are also investigated.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1984

Water impact laboratory and flight test results for the space shuttle solid rocket booster aft skirt

A series of water impact tests was conducted using full-scale segment representations of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) aft skirt structure. The baseline reinforced structural design was tested as well as various alternative design concepts. A major portion of the test program consisted of evaluating foam as a load attenuation material. Applied pressures and response strains were measured for impact velocities from 40 feet per second (ft/s) to 110 ft/s. The structural configurations, test articles, test results, and flight results are described.

Kross, D. A.↗