An Analysis of Dynamic Response of a Rocket Sled

Abstract

The prediction of dynamic response of the rocket sled before the detailed design process would be beneficial as it can help optimize the structure, thereby increasing the reliability, shortening the development cycle, and reducing the risk of developing. However, it is very difficult to accurately simulate the dynamic response of a rocket sled considering the additional elastic deformation and the irregularity of the track surface. A calculation of the difference between the value of track-sled gap and the irregularity of the track surface for estimating elastic deformation can improve the simulation accuracy, but this method does not apply to lower speed, as the impact speed would not cause the same amount of additional deformation calculated. In light of this, an appropriate interpolation method is developed to determine the additional elastic deformation value in lower speed. The results of dynamic response are provided comparing with real test data and it proves that this method is very effective.