Methodology for Ensuring Safety and Operational Reliability of Reusable Launch Vehicle Composite Structures under High-Intensity Vibroacoustic Loads
Abstract
The monograph examines a probabilistic, damage-tolerant methodology for ensuring the safety and operational reliability of reusable launch vehicle composite structures subjected to high-intensity vibroacoustic loads. The study is motivated by the rapid expansion of reusable launch systems, for which mass efficiency, certification speed, and interflight survivability of composite payload fairings have become decisive engineering and economic constraints. The aim of the monograph is to develop and substantiate an integrated analytical framework for predicting residual life, defect evolution, and safe operating margins in large-scale orthotropic shell structures under stochastic acoustic excitation. The scientific novelty lies in the synthesis of hybrid FE-SEA vibroacoustic modeling, stochastic fracture mechanics, XFEM/VCCT-based defect-growth simulation, and nondestructive-evaluation data fusion within a single closed assessment cycle. The principal conclusion is that deterministic metallic-style safety approaches are inadequate for heterogeneous composites; instead, probabilistic life prediction enables more credible certification, targeted inspection planning, reduced unnecessary mass, and a justified extension of reusable fairing service life without compromising mission safety. The monograph will be useful for researchers, design engineers, certification specialists, and graduate students in aerospace structures and composite mechanics.
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References
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