Finite Element Model Optimization of the FalconSAT-5 Structural Engineering Model

<p>Space launch vehicles produce tremendously harsh environments for their payloads. One of the worst contributors to this harsh environment is vibration. Launch vehicle contractors require accurate dynamic models in order to perform coupled loads analyses with each payload to mitigate risks. Accurate predictions of the dynamic response of the payload are not achieved easily. The Finite Element (FE) method has proven to be the best approach in creating accurate dynamic models of complex structures. To improve the agreement between and FE model and the structure it represents a common practice is to 'tune' or adjust parameters of the FE model to match experimentally measured data. In order to collect spatially dense and accurate dynamic responses from a satellite a Polytec laser vibrometer is used which measures the Doppler shift to determine the frequency response from an excitation. To illustrate the benefits of employing this approach a process is developed to measure dense modal data and tune an FE model of the US Air Force Academy's FalconSAT-5 Structural Engineering Model. The first step in the process developed in this research involves measuring and tuning models of the satellite structure panels individually.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>