RE-ENTRY VEHICLE SYNTHESIS PROGRAM CALCULATION OF STRUCTURAL WEIGHTS

The re-entry vehicle synthesis program is used for parametric studies of re-entry vehicles. It is intended to indicate generally the optimum (i.e., minimum weight) shapes for various missions, but is not used for detailed design calculations. The structural weights estimated by the existing program...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: MORIZUMI,S.J, THOMPSON,T.R
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
AIRFRAMES
LOAD DISTRIBUTION
MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS
REENTRY VEHICLES
SIMULATION
SYNTHESIS
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Summary:The re-entry vehicle synthesis program is used for parametric studies of re-entry vehicles. It is intended to indicate generally the optimum (i.e., minimum weight) shapes for various missions, but is not used for detailed design calculations. The structural weights estimated by the existing program have been overly conservative, so a slightly more sophisticated method has been devised, using the same basic equations, which optimizes the design within the limitations of the program. The previous method assumed that each separate section of the body was a single conical shell stiffened at the end by a single stiffener ring. Each ring was presumed to support the pressure load acting on the rear half of the section which immediately preceded it. In the new program each section is divided up into a number of bays, each one stiffened by a ring. An iterative procedure is used to determine the number of bays which result in the minimum weight of structure. Both normal pressure and axial compression loads are considered. The resultant structure is checked against expected launch loads and peak normal re-entry loads (the basic design is made for peak axial deceleration). (Author)