Dynamics and Simulation of Flexible Rockets

Flexible dynamics in launch vehicles have long been considered a disturbance for simulation purposes. Future launch vehicles may include real time estimation and possible real time control or attenuation of flexible dynamics. This is currently handled partially as part of gain-scheduled controllers, but future (slender) launch vehicles will require more detailed models and possibly actuation to control vibrational behavior. The engineer needs to know which parameters are critical and have confidence that all relevant features of the dynamics have been included so that the rocket will not encounter an unfavorable dynamic interaction.

Dynamics and Simulation of Flexible Rockets provides a full state, multi-axis treatment of large flexible rockets with propellant slosh and provides the state equations in a format that can be readily coded into a simulation environment. Presenting a vector formulation of rocket dynamics that is suitable for modern computer analysis, equations of motion are derived for a flexible rocket with sloshing fuel and moving nozzles. Various forms of the mass matrix for this system are also presented. This book also discusses the nature of various forms of coupling, such as between the nozzle motions and the flexible dynamics.

• Covers everything the structural and control engineer needs to analyze or improve launch vehicle stability when facing flexible dynamics
• Provides the derivation of the linear dynamics using Lagrange's equation plus a separate nonlinear Newton/Euler derivation, allowing the reader to assess the importance of nonlinear terms
• Presents a method for making a smooth transition from one finite element model to the next