Date of Award
Summer 2008
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Program/Concentration
Aerospace Engineering
Committee Director
Drew Landman
Committee Member
Colin P. Britcher
Committee Member
Brett Newman
Call Number for Print
Special Collections; LD4331.E535 J64 2008
Abstract
Lack of reliable in-flight data regarding the forces experienced by a spacecraft inside a Boeing Delta II rocket have led to the need for a simple and cost effective force measurement solution. This research investigates one solution that creates a direct reading force transducer to monitor the forces and moments experienced by the spacecraft rather than inferring forces from accelerometer readings as is currently practiced. In order to minimize costs, it is desired that the transducer is designed out of the existing structure that connects the spacecraft to the second stage. The existing structure is called a Payload Attachment Fitting (PAF). The procedure to design such a transducer coupled a computational structural model with a virtual experiment. Design of Experiments (DOE) was used to locate strain gages, necessary to monitor the applied forces. Gages were combined in Wheatstone bridges to optimize individual component response while minimizing interactions. This research outlines the gage placement procedure and additionally proposes a method for calibration.
Rights
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DOI
10.25777/z9t4-8983
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Thomas H..
"A 6-DOF Force Transducer Design from an Existing Rocket Payload Attachment Fitting"
(2008). Master of Science (MS), Thesis, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/z9t4-8983
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/mae_etds/556