Experimental and Numerical Modal Analysis of a Composite Rocket Structure

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a powerful tool that can aid in the engineering design process to reduce cost and time. However, it is best used in conjunction with experimental data, through which its numerical results can be verified. This paper presents the experimental and numerical modal analyses of an experimental rocket aerostructure to verify the accuracy of the numerical models. This aerostructure has been through flight loads and a recovery. The first numerical results for the rocket showed a 96% difference with the experimental ones. Subsequently, three mass refinements were made to create calibrated FEM models whose results differed from the experimental ones by 19% to 8%. Additionally, as expected, the FEM results tended to overestimate the stiffness of structures. The numerical simulations for all components were performed through ANSYS software, and the experiments were conducted using the hammer tap test with laser vibrometers as sensors.