Development of composite structures for launch vehicles

Abstract

Ultimate weight reduction and low manufacturing cost are strongly required in the development of next-generation launch vehicles. It is one of effective methods for these purposes to change structural materials from conventional aluminum alloys to composites, such as CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics). Under these situations, we developed a launch vehicle structure by using CFRP/honeycomb sandwich panels in order to achieve both weight and cost reduction. FEM (Finite Element Method) simulation was utilized to effectively carry out the structural design. Metallic structures are applied for the flanges (joining interfaces between the other structures) in general; however, we used CFRP structures also for the interface flanges for the weight reduction and manufacturing simplicity. The designed CFRP structure was fabricated and a static load test was conducted considering flight loads during actual launch. The strain distribution was obtained by FBG (Fiber Bragg Grating) sensors and three-dimensional displacement was measured by laser tracker as well as normal strain gauges in the limit load test. These measured data were compared with the FEM simulation results and they show good agreement. We will apply these manufacturing, testing, simulation and sensing techniques for the future launch vehicle developments. © 2011 The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers.