Static and dynamic structural analyses for a 750 kN class liquid rocket engine with TVC actuation

During the development stage of a liquid rocket engine structural analyses are needed for increasing structural reliability and identify necessary design changes. These analyses need enormous efforts for detail modeling and cause large computational cost. With increasing computational power, the modeling can be more detailed than in the past. In this study, non-linear static structural and free vibration analyses taking into account the static loading as preloading are performed for a 750 kN class liquid rocket engine system. The finite element (FE) structural analyses are performed using the general purpose commercial code, Abaqus 2016. The effects of the static loadings on stress distributions and the free vibration results are analyzed. Additionally a simple kinematic model using rigid body elements is made up to investigate the elasticity effects on the rotation angles due to engine gimbaling. The strains measured from a ground firing test are converted to equivalent stresses to be compared with the FE analysis results. And a certain leakage problem solved using the FE analysis results is also presented.