A Methodology for Mapping Launch Vehicle Buffet Loads

Buffet loads represent the primary source of high frequency loading for launch vehicles during the ascent portion of flight. Currently, experimental techniques establish the nature of buffeting using a rigid scale model of the vehicle. The buffet forcing functions resulting from such tests are then applied to reduced finite-element models of the full-scale vehicle to determine the response and consequent loading. This paper discusses the techniques required to translate model-derived, empirical buffet forcing functions into responses for the full-scale launch vehicle, as used to determine the buffet loading for NASA's Ares I launch vehicle.