IMPACT ABSORBERS FOR APPLICATION TO THE CASING OF EXPERIMENTAL ROCKETS

Resumo

This project had an intent to research and determine materials with good damping
characteristics that serve as impact absorber.The materials determined here can serve as the inner
casing of experimental rockets, minimizing the damage caused by impacts to the ground to the ejected
capsules, aiming the reuse of internal components. A mathematical model with a degree of freedom
was used, which shows the spring, the damping and the mass of the capsule. The dynamic loading was
due to the impact on the ground. The elastic, damping and inertial forces were considered. The goal
was to minimize the acceleration of the part through the use of materials that could serve as the inner
lining of these rockets. Several materials were researched, with the objective of determining its
modulus of elasticity, coefficient of internal damping and density. A material with a high density, or a
low damping factor, is not desirable. Once these properties were determined, they were introduced in
the mathematical model to verify the ones that produce the most acceleration reduction after impact.