Numerical Analysis on Separation Dynamics of Strap-On Boosters in the Dense Atmosphere

A numerical technique for simulating the separation dynamics of strap-on boosters jettisoned in the dense atmosphere is presented. Six degree of freedom rigid body equations of motion are integrated into the three-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes solution procedure to determine the dynamic motions of strap-ons. An automated Chimera overlaid grid technique is introduced to achieve maximum efficiency for multi-body dynamic motion and a domain division technique is implemented in order to reduce the computational cost required to find interpolation points in the Chimera grids. The flow solver is validated by comparing the computed results around the Titan IV launch vehicle with experimental data. The complete analysis process is then applied to the. H-II launch vehicle, the central rocket in japans space program, the CZ-3C launch vehicle developed in China and the KSR-III, a three-stage sounding rocket being developed in Korea. From the analyses, separation trajectories of strap-on boosters are predicted and aerodynamic characteristics around the vehicles at every time interval are examined. In addition, separation-impulse devices generally introduced for safe separation of strap-ons are properly modeled in the present paper and the jettisoning force requirements are examined quantitatively.