SWUTTLE STRUCTURAL DYNANICS CHARACTERISTICS, ‘THE ANALYSIS. AND VERIFICATION €. Thomas Modlin, Or, and George A. Zupp, J. ASA Lyndon'B. dahnson spece Center’ Houston, Texas 77038 snaooueTON ‘The buslding and operation of the Space Shuttle represents a milestone fn the U.S. space pro- gran. "ine She's fhe First sumed spacecrstt to berrensasler on its first Fiighé on rit 12, $5e1; 14 suecesstully carried astronauts’ and « payload Into Eorth Orbit Lp to this point 1m space exploration, a launch vehicle hed to successfully coeplete an exten sive and comprehensive f1ght test progran’before being man rated. The Shuttle progran philosophy, fon the other hand, was to use key element testing and verifted analytical models to certity the reit Binity oF the Shugtle launch configuration. Several engineering disciplines relied heavily on verified analytical models of the Space Shut the, ices, the disciplines of structural dynamics, pogo, and flutter. The verification of these trodes eaployed laboratory control testing to develop. date critical Go math model veriffeation. The esi phioopny was to correlate aniysis and testing to an acceptable cegree of accuracy and infer from this that the launch vehtele dynamics could be predicted with the sane accuracy. Dung, the phase 8 period of the erooram, anayttcal studies pointed up unique dramte chracter- Sstice of the paraltel burn configuration, tn particular, 9 very high wodal” density with 200 strac- tural modes Below 20 hert? in combination with a wide spectrum of cOndittons Involving a wide vartety of dynonte problems (113. 1), Studies conducted at the MASA Langley Research Center {LaRC) on 2 TisSdeate dynante model reinforced these concerns, and the results indicated the substantia} toflu~ fence of element interface stiffness on the prinary low frequency modes of the systen. Immediately after approval to proceed with the Shuttle, particular emphasts was placed on developing a technica} plan of action that would ensure ‘early resolution of the key {ssves in the structural dyntcs art; inh testing gort ion or the vert ‘cation plan thas volved cons{ated of three nojor parts: the i/4-seale dynamics nodel program to provige early date, tests of full= scale elenents, and a full-scale waved vertical ground vibrat on test (F19. 2). In the:developsent Of the 1/4-Scate Hodel Program 1Ced on Investigating encugh propellant conditions to adequately represent the f1¥ from lift-off to end burn and 80 aininize the requirements for fulloscale testing. Further attention was directed tovard planning analytical activities to support hardware develop iment and ground testing. User requtrenents, for structural loads, fIight control, pogo, and flutter, vere identified and, where recuired, specific models vere generated to meet the discipiine's need. The plan established the mechanics for generating and updating the structural dynamic math wodels. Each elenent contractor was responsible for generating and updating the models of MIs. elements, and the systen contractor was responsible for identifying requtrenents to the element ‘contractor and for Integrating the complete model. The objective of this systen was to require 20h contractor to be respoosible for the element -untaue models and helr ver{fteation. Schedles were established for the developaent of the structural math models to support the Shuttle progran tTestones, the elenent kilestones, and the ground vibration test program. Extensive testing was also conducted to support the verification of the pogo and flutter forcing function models. Since each of these disciplines utilizes the structural dmamte model, the testing verification was orlented toward detintng the associated closed-loop forcing function. "In the ease of pogo, where pogo suppressors on the Space Shuttle mato engines (SSME"s) were baselined early 10 the’ program, the testing prinartly addressed the SSNE dynamics and suppressor charactertstics.” This sz Sccomlishes trough the pulsing of the onygen feed system to the main engines and eeasuing the Bttenuatton or. amplification oF the pulse stgnal throush the system. Frou these date, the System character {sties were extracted and used in the pogo stability analysis, The flutter models were verified using the same philosophy. Flutter testing was extensive, using wind tunnel testing with eroelasticalty scaled wodels. The fina) verification procedures of these models did require an assessment of flight data, with tthe bulk of these data being developed From SIS-1 £0 SIS-5. Approninately & thousand developed ‘Might weasuronerts were tnvolved, 325MAXIMUM DYNAMIC PRESSURE STAGING 1 Arroormame mrenrenence 1 Seace smorrur baw ename 2 tance Uxtenaa nceecensTions ‘sum Tunouon stacina, 1S Muthete toby neseonse “Seeamanowarsvaanc. LAUNCH 1s sP4c¥ snurmis mann exaINE 1TION 1 Souc nockeT poowreniantnow ‘MUHintgecoy nearonse Lanna. 3 haan Canova sretos PRELAUNCH * vorrex snepowe eanarenr wo usr FIGURE 1. SPECTRUM OF SHJTTLE DYMAMIC CONFIGURATIONS. STRUCTURAL pUNICS The Space Shuttle introduced a new disension in the complexity of the structural dynamtes of 2 space vehicle. The four-body conf guration exhibited structural frequenctes as low as 2 hert2 with anode! denstiy on the order of 10 andes per hertz. The structural dynamic mathenet ca] godels are derived from the "stress model,” watch 15 a de tatled finite-elenent ode} of the Space Shuttle structure. The stress model has dpproxinately 5° 000 Segrees of Freeda (419. 3). The dmantc models were derived from the stress model by various re- ‘duction techniques, and each has on the order of 1000 degrees of freedom. The degrees of freedom that are retained in the dynamic models sre-destgned to satisfy user requirements, f.e., dfsefplines such as pogo, dynamic loads, flutter, and flight control. "For extn- ple,, in the pogo structural models, # finer grid fs retatned fn the Orbiter thrust structure and in {ne 1iquié oxygen (LOK) feed aysten. Since the hydrodynamics of the propellant are ‘aportant to the pogo stabtiity analysis, a hydroelasttc model of the external tank (ET) 1s employed. Siutlar fidel- ty 15 preserved tn eriiteal areas Of the vehicle as defined by the disciplines of dmanic loads, ‘Matters ond FIIght control. rn eo fei hm eh aoe otc pti oy Ota at eee sarc! ewe art ae ar Bice Ra “ets, ie pet peter ae pein Bit ON at Oo wt oe ae Benin aoe a ok In the verification process, certatn aode shapes and frequencies were {dent ified by the users as more important than others and, as such, the test sbjectiver were orfentes torard expertnentally, extracting those modes and frequencies for analysis and test correlation purposes. To provide the tecessary‘emperinentat cnt, e seri of ground vibration tests (GT) wes conducted uting eat artt- cles ranging fron the 1/4 Structural replica of the Space Shuttle to the ull-scate vehicle. 326— —— exeuent rests =) cowononr reer FIGIRE 2.~ “BUILDING BLOCK* APPROACH TO AN UNDERSTANOING OF SHUTTLE STRUCTIRAL DYRANTCS. SE EIS FIGURE 3.~ OVERALL VIEW OF STRESS FINITE-ELEWENT MODEL. wr‘SROUND VIBRATION TESTING The Space Shuttle VT progran was designed to provide structural dymanic data early in the pro- gram 40 that if problons d1@ occur, the solutions could be. Inplenenteé with 2 mininum of progran cost 4nd schedule impact. The Langley Research Center was the first to start a vibration test progran using 2 1/B-scale structural mdeT (refs. 1 and 2). Although the model replication was coarse, the overall configuration was representative of the Space Shuttle. The early LaRC data incieated the Presence of low frequency Structural modes. atsoctated with the four-body configuration and the impor Rance of the fntertace stiffness on these modes. Also of concern was the lack of a Verified analysts of the ET hydroelastic characteristics. To develop the necessary experimental data for math model veriftcation, three basic GUT prow ems aaa, bate tneg tn the Suttle evelopment scheasle.” These were the Rorlzonta} ground wforat fon fest (IVT), the 1/4-scale model GYT, and the mated vertical ground vibration test (MIGYT). The test and analysis schedule spanned the years fran 1974 to 1981 (f19. 4). in all ade GF proces, ahrs were ened to eco Ihe struc ad secelrontars were ne oo ee ne aes SpE arate rpm artes tne ett se Tent an nae Sy ee ee ee ee ee eee eS He Oo Ee eee nd ite bese pwn ope cabin om ey L$ to 6 te Te et ie etal elreeten i cee nee eaters Obi ao ele ema meg prceaee cie teee Se amt are age crn il aah ese at he ae metic shal te lmtang arly ne a tes he ea between a test mode and an analytical mode. The mass watrix, [mJ, in this calculation was derived Per et em SO SSeS ee, era es ea ene Grae ME pe at Mel rN PSE WE oh le oa Gon 21 Paya 2 This Feature oives a quantitative measure of the quality of the mode shape comparison between test and’ analysis. dudgnent fas to be exercised in the interpretation of the cross orthogonality calcu? ton because of Ynherent error due to coarse gridding and reduction of the mass matrix to the test grid location. =[= [== l=l=l=[=[= wert A ver Weecaue AA wad |Y onerren srmese open. 44 1 VaNcLs kas ascenTres Woon, 7 wemeLs car ETRY FCA MODEL, onerren srness mone ss voraewoon FreuRe ‘OROWOLOGY OF THE SHUTTLE STRUCTURAL HATH MODEL AXD GROUND YIORATION TESTS.HORIZONTAL GROUND VIBRATION TEST The HVT articte was the Orbiter 101 (OV-101) vehicle (the Orbiter used in the Approach and Land- ing Test (ALT)}.. These tests were conducted in the sumer of 1976 at Palodale, California. This was the {feat opporiuntty to get quality Structural dymamic data for mah model vertf ‘cation. Altoe OV-101 was. not Ident icat to the Orbiter 102 (OV-102) vehicle (the Orbiter used In the first Shuttle Taunch), the differences vere accounted for in the structural math model. The primary éifferences, ‘were in’ the areas. of the OMS pod {O¥-I01 1d not have OMS pods but these were staulated by a "botle Pinte cover}, the thrust structure (the thrust structure was not boron epoxy os it was in the case OF OV-102},, and the vertical fin (the vertical fin was made ap of a skin and stringer configuration vs. integrally wach ined for the O¥-102 fTight,vehicTe). The payload in the Orbiter during testing as the Development Flight’ Instrunentation (OFT) package, which wetghed approximately 10 600 pounds. There were tvo basic test configurations: the Orbiter supported in a “free-free" condition to sinulate the entry and lending cont gurat ions, and the Orbiter rigidly attached to the ground at the Erforbiter interface to simulate the boost configuration (Figs. 5 and 6). Ferry locks also secured the control surfaces during testing. The test objectives were to detersine experimentally selected san shapes, frequencies, and model damping. in the frequency range from O75 to S0 hertz, and to sc quire frequency response data at the Orbiter guidance and contro! sensor locations. Table 1 1s 8 Comparison of analysis frequencies and test frequencies for the free-free, or soft mount, configura Ton. Ae the analysts Indicates, the structural mode shapes are quite complicated ané are not gener~ ally menable to classic descriptions, but the modal descriptions noted in table 1 are the areas of primary motfen tn the noted node. ‘The major results from these tests were (1) the identity of frfetion tn the payload bay door ‘shear pins, vntch had the effect of Increasing the pitch bending stiffness of the fuselage, (2) the ‘Roda damping, and (3) the lack of anslytical correlation of the center-eounted rate syros’on the 1307 buTehead: "The modal damping data extracted from these tests were invaluable to fTight control ers in the Final verification of the entry Flight control steDiiity essersuent. For 2 Setafed com parison between test and analysis, refer to reference 3. FIGURE 5.- SOFT HORIZONTAL GROUND VIBRATION TEST FIGURE 6,~ RIGID HORIZONTAL GROUND VIBRATION TEST ‘MBBNGEREXT. ‘ARRANGE TWBLE 1.~ COMPARISON OF TEST AND AMALYSIS FREQUENCIES FOR THE FREE-FREE, (8 SOFT MOUNT, HET (10 PAYLOAD) Noda! descrstfon poatyticel freauency, Test frequency, " fH First fuselage bending (Ke¥ pane 5.09 5.97 FIFE wing Boneing (Fz\piane) 788 rh First vertical fin bending (¥-Z plane) cs 380 First vertical fin tors tons 120 ww x8QUARTER-SCALE STRUCTURAL MODEL, The 1/4seate mde arogran us started tn cary 1975 forthe purpose of developing btoh seraclfoN Spat RG P09 tn WE EATEN SroSee’ cha acoatte Peprttnte tee gine Pei ae SOHN riage trearel nee tra mie eter rate and | ard ET, and three flight ‘configurations of the solid rocket booster (SRB) (ref. 4). The 1/4-scale trooeeh toe tnt Somrobensire cheat the Sure GM eearace Oe te artetG Seein BePeeaon ent rosie Oe Tesco melas Structured so Tike the Fight Aeron. The 1/A-seale vibration test configuratton included the FoTlowing. 1, Orbiter /£1/SR8 configuration (with 48K =rigtd™ payload) a. Liftott BI Maximum dynante pressure C2 Pre-SR® separation 2. Orbiter /ET conf tgurat ton (with 48K srigid® payload) ‘a. Start Boost BI Mid boot 21 End boost 3. Orbiter element (with and wtthout 45k *rigta payToad) 4. ET element, 139 ent 5. SRB element During testing, water was used to simulate the LOX in the ET and the weight and hydroelastic effects. Of the Tiqu1d hydrogen (LH) in the hydrogen tank were neglected. This procedure was also used tn { he MVONT ‘To complenent the vibration test program, Tosd-def lection tests were conducted on the SRB or the ET. The Toad-deflected tests were destgned to provide dite that could be used to resolve ances ‘ous of unexplained vibration test data. Primarily, the losdcdeflection date Supported the ver‘fic ton of the stiffnest matrix in the (deitized structural model. At the stort of the 1/4-scale progran, there were several areas that presented probiens in struc tural dynamle modeling. These vere the ET hydroelastic analysis, the interface st'# nesses between the elements, the SRD propellant. and interml pressure effects on the systen structural modes, the payload bay door effectivity in the Orbiter fuselage pitch bending stiftaess. Because of the pogo requirements for a high-fidelity hydroelasttc analysts, the hydroelastic rode! of the ET was of particular concer in the early stages of the program. The lack of correla- fon petwoen test and aetyats with CORE ata tgicatee that the Sonerceiclency could e expected from the hycroelastic analysts of the ET; therefare, several 1/4ascele tank conf gurations were Selected for testing, In paralel, the hartin Rarsetes Company was developing a stew hysroelast fe analysis which became avafTable before 1/Acscale testing. The quality of correlation between the bgrided hydroelastie anelysis and the Ef vibration date was Judged excel Tent and provided the conft- dence in the analysis that allowed a reaction in scope of the EY vibration testing. Generally, the lanslysis frequenc tes were Migher than the test freaquenctes. These differences were attributed to. tn- femal pressure effects inthe LOK Conk and the (i tank. ‘The Orbiter test verified the presence of friction in the payload bay door thetr pin suftictent to effectively incresse the pitch bending stiffness. at" Tow excitation levels. This increase. in stiffness increared the bending frequency above that of the predicted value. The Eatfon forces on the structure overcame the friction in the shear pins and thereby sotion between the door bays and consequent reduction of the bending stiffness end frequency. The re- Guction tn Frequency was consistent with pretest analysts. Several Orbiter configurations were tested that addressed the effects of payload wetght on the ‘Orbiter vibration characteristics. Ground vibration tests were also conducted with payload bay doors ‘Opened to staulate the on-orbit configuration. The SRD tests Ident ified several areas tn the wath model that required additional study. These were (1) the ET/SR8 Interrace, which required adgit ions] detail in the finite-element model, (2) the ‘ncorporation of a representative shear modulus for the propellant, and (3) the tneorpor ation of the, foternal pressure effects on shell stiffness. The posttest analysis incorporated changes. in the math 330‘model that corrected some of these deficiencies. The internal pressure effects on the shell stiff mess were handled enpericatly; the shear stiffness effects of the propellant were stil). tn a state Of iteration at the tine of MVSVT. Comparisons of the test and analysts frequencies for the Orbiter fest and tre Orbiter/ET/SRB Tift-off test are presented in tables 2 and 3. respectively. A detailed Dresentation of 1/4-scale model test data and analysis can be found in reference 5. TABLE 2.~ COMPARISON OF TEST AND ANALYSIS FREQUENCIES FOR THE "FREE-FREE* 1/4-SCALE (ORBITER GYT (ASE PATLOND) Modal desertpt ion Analytical frequency, Test frequency, he i First fuselage bending (X-¥ plane) First wing bending (7-2 plane) First vertical Tin bending (¥-Z plane) First vertical fin torsion TABLE 3.~ COMPARISON OF TEST AND ANALYSIS. FREQUENCIES FOR THE “FREE-FREE® 1/4-SCALE CORBITER/ET/SRB.LIFT-OFF CONFIGURATION (45E PATLOAD) Modal description Analytical frequency, Test frequency, he SRB rot) (ant tsymmetre} 2.0 SHB rot] {ant isgametr i] 20 First vertical tim bending (1-2 plane) 27 53 First wing bending (Xz plane) ATED VERTICAL GROUNO VIBRATION TEST The GYT vas te fina) major test program fn, the structural duets model ver{fYeation plan. These tests vere conducted between the summers of 1976 and 1979 at the KASA Seorge C. Narshell Space Flight Center (MFC) tn Huntsvitle, Ala. The primary objectives of these tests were to experimentally obtain full-scale structural made shapes, frequencies, daaping data, and transfer functions at selected fTight control sensor locations. "The test configurations (figs. 7 and 8) vere as follows. 1s Orbiter/ET/SRB configuratton (payload 10%) a. Liftott BL Pre-SRB separation 2. Orbiter/ET conf guration (payload 10K) Start doott Mia boost End Boost ‘The modal data extracted from these tests compared favorably with the modal data derived frow "ie model testing when the Known configuration differences were considered. Presented tn table ‘conparson bebreen test and analysis frequenc tes, and the associated modal damping presented Percent of critical damping for the MNT Tiftcat? conf guration: ‘The major result of these tests was the Sdentificat{on of local resonances in the area of the SRB rate gyro Tocations. These resonances had the effect of corrupting the sensor signals, which, if ‘occurring i fight, mould have the effect of a lost sensor. Other ancwalies were also noted on the Orbiter Stae-mounted rate gyros. ‘The ‘sue raised during 1/4-scale testing concerning SRB propellant stiffness was not resolved. Because of the nonlinear viscoelastic properties of the SRB propetlant, the eventual resolution of aarena _f' RESTRAINT. san surronr {| nor svepont |— sronooraaanc os surronr FIGURE 7.- SUSPENSION SYSTEM FOR THE SPACE SHUTTLE (FOUR-200Y CONFIGURATION) . thls problem was through adjusting the analysis via the propellant shear stiffrass to agree with test. ata. Fortunately for the Users of the structural dyneatc models, the structural modes with sigatti= SEU SE-propeliane motion hoa'relative Moh damping’ and were ot significant tn the performance of various user disciplines. The structural daoping data extracted from these tests ranged from a low of about 0.1 percent for the andes with signifteant f1ufd potion to more. than 10 pereent for certain “local modes, the average modal damping ranged from 1 to 3 percent. The damping data were extrenely valuable tn the Final certification of the flght control stability marging in that measured damping valves in the Eritical Hight control modes were higher than the Initial baseline of 0.5 percent. 3FIGURE 8.~ SUSPENSION SYSTEM FOR THE ORBITER/ET CONFIGURATION (1#0-BODY CONFIGURATION). TABLE 4. COMPARISON OF TEST. MD AMALYSTS TES FORTHE “FREE-FREE™ WVGIT LIFTOFF CONFIGURATION (108 PATLOND) Moda} description Analytical freqency, Test frequency, Danping Wr i che HB rol fanttsymetrte) 0.01 Sua roll (Sommetrte) “13 First orbiter bending (Y-2 plane) a First wing bending (¥-2 plane) 5 saver, The advent of the Space Shuttle presented untque challenges to the structural dynamics analyst fn the Sense that the analytical mosels hed to be ver {fed ta'an acceptable: sccurscy before a named Teanch. “This objective net accomplished tn the Shuttle progran by sn extensive vibration test anele Bri program, “The thre main vibration test programs ware FEVT, 1/4-rcale mode! CYT, an the MYT. gntficant analyeica) effort wes omitted to modeling the test configuration. The’ correlation of ‘these results provided & foundation for model certifleation. ‘he strocters} dante mode] ured provided an fnvalosble Input into the certification process by det sning the structure] dyeane elements and moder thet were critical to the discipline enysis. ‘or example, t2 Saprove the eccorsy of predicting the aynontc responce of Groster paylosds Goring landing md 1iFteoFfy increased Thaehity in the madeTing of the Orbiter lengerons and payload Interfaces wes reevired 3Generally, the vibration test and analysis program revealed that the mode shapes and frequency correlations below 10 hertz were good. The quality of correlation of modes between 10) and 20 hertz rom god to farang that of nodes above 22 her ranged fron Pooy tO gud. Since, he met Based on user preference, were below T0 hertz, I was. fudged that the Shuttle struc- tural dynamic models were adequate for flight certiticat ons. REFERENCES 1. Blanchard, U. Jo: Miserentino, Ra: and Leadbetter, $. Au: Experimental Investigation of the Vibration’ characteristics of & Model of an Asymmetric Miltlelenent. Space Shuttle. RASA TH IT Pinson, Ls D.g and Leadbetter, 5. A.t Sone Results from 1/8-Seale Shuttle Model Vibration Studtes. "J. Spacecraft & Rockets, vol. 16, Jan.-Feb. 1979, pp. Bejmuk, Bohdan: Space Shuttle Vehicle and System Dmanics Data Book, voT. 1A, Orbiter 10L Horizontal Ground Vibration Test Data Book, Rockwelt Internationa) S0-75-H.0032, Dee. 1976, 4, Eero, Oonald Ha: The Quarter-Scale Space Shuttle Design, Fabricat fon, and Tests. J, Spacecrart Whockets, wo. 17, mo. 4, duly-Aug. 1980, et a1: Baseline Quarter-Seale Ground Vibration Test. RockwelT iy’ 1980. Hes Jennings» S. Jes Guyan, R. Jez and Barrett, J, Ru: Muted Vert eal Ground Vibration est Engineering Analysts Report. Rockwell International STS60-0038, Mar. 1960, 7. Buss, Frank: Viscortestle Propellant Effects on Space Shuttle Omanies. MASA TH#2403, at