M. Ehramianpour, H. Haddadpour, M. T. Ahmadian
The Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, vol. 24, no. 9, pp.1755-1762, 2010

Abstract : This paper presents dynamic and vibration analysis of a flight vehicle with consideration of the free fitting between its two sections. Using the Lagrangian approach, a general analytical model is developed for a non-spinning elastic vehicle in planar motion. The model contains rigid body motions and bending deformations of two sections of the flight vehicle and a nonlinear rotational spring that models the freeplay between the two sections. To express bending deformation, the mode summation method is applied. It is shown that freeplay in the joints significantly affects the trajectory of the flight vehicle. Numerical examples reveal the effect of a joint’s nonlinearity on the trajectory and stability of the flight vehicle.

Keyword : Flight vehicle; Freeplay; Multi body; Nonlinear vibration