Simulated Models Test Design of Space Shuttles and Rocket Engines

摘要

NASA tasked Dynamic Concepts (DCI) with assessing the structural dynamics of the rollout process, whereby the space shuttle orbiter, external tank, and solid rocket booster assembly is moved via a crawler transporter from the Vertical Assembly Building to the launch pad. DCI used Femap finite-element modeling software from Siemens PLM Software (Piano, TX) to create an integrated model of all the shuttle components, and used Siemens' NX Nastran to analyze the simulated vibration environment. The analysis helped NASA resolve issues with support structures and determine target rollout speeds that minimized potentially damaging vibration.