Loads Combination Research at Marshall Space Flight Center

This is the result of a study conducted by the Structural Dynamics Division of the Marshall Space Flight Center concerning the combination of low- and high-frequency dynamic loads for spacecraft design. Low-frequency transient loads are combined with high frequency acoustically induced loads to arrive at a limit load, for design purposes. Different methods are used for combining the loads which can lead to considerable variation in limit loads, depending on which NASA Center did the calculation. This study investigates several different combination methods and compares the combination methods with Spacelab 1 flight data. In addition, the relative timing of low- and high-frequency loads is examined.