Experimental determination of vibration conductivity by rocket sled structural elements in high-speed track tests of aircraft equipment
Authors: Astakhov Sergey A. , Biryukov Vasily I. , Kataev Andrey V. 
Published: October 2024

The development of new ballistic-type aircraft is characterized primarily by improved aerodynamic characteristics and higher speed limits. Ground track testing of aviation and rocket technology is a stage whose task is to confirm the efficiency and effectiveness of new developments. Track tests make it possible to simulate real loads, they are simpler and much cheaper than flight tests. Experimental installation "Rocket rail track 3500" of Scientific Test Range of Aviation Systems named after L. K. Safronov is constantly being upgraded in order to conduct track tests of products at a speed greater than 3M. The experimental setup includes a two-rail track, made on a special foundation, which excludes unacceptable rail deflection with a mass of up to 3000 kg. The rail track has an acceleration section with an angle of attack 2500 m long and a deceleration section. A tray filled with water is made on the braking section between the track rails. It is designed for hydrodynamic braking to a complete stop of the rocket sled with stored equipment. The movable rocket track sled is made of a massive steel plate to which three cross beams are welded. The front and rear beams end with axles on which sliding supports are pivotally mounted. On the rear and middle beams there are lodgements for fastening rocket engines of solid fuel. Depending on the required test speed, from one to five motors can be placed on the cradles. The test object is usually mounted on the front and middle beams along the axis of the sled and fixed in a cantilever, with the head part extended forward. The design of the supports - shoes is made to encircle the rail head in such a way that it provides sliding contact along the upper plane of the rail head, and in the event of a lifting force exceeding the weight of the sled at high speeds, it keeps the structure from free flight by contacting the lower surface of the rail head. Track high-speed tests of special equipment objects are always accompanied by intense vibration and shock effects of structural elements. Due to the desire to conduct track testing of products at a faster rate, it becomes necessary to reduce the level of dynamic loads and eliminate resonant interactions.
The article presents an algorithm and methodology! for statistical processing of random signals of three-axis vibration acceleration sensors installed on the shoes of the rocket track sled and on the fairing of the test object. Due to the placement of registration data storage devices on the sled, experimental vibration data were stored when testing the product at a speed of more than IM. The autocorrelation functions of the signals of vibration accelerations of sensors placed on various elements of the rocket sled, the functions of mutual correlation of the corresponding signals, the density of the amplitude spectra, the density of the power spectra and the transfer functions that characterize the dynamic conductivity of vibrations from the shoes sliding along the rail guides to the test object were determined.