Evaluation of Shock Mitigating Materials in a V-Band Pyroshock Environment Simulated With a Resonant Fixture

An explosively activated V-band joint is used on a multistage rocket payload to release components at prescribed times in the rocket's flight and crates a pyroshock environment that the other payload components must survive. Accelerometer response data were measured close to an actual V-band pyroshock. With the shock spectra calculated from these data, a resonant fixture was designed to simulate a V-band pyroshock event. The characteristics of the data and the design process are described. Laboratory tests were conducted to determine that the desired shock spectra with an unusually high knee at about 8,000 Hz was produced with the resonant fixture. The fixture was then mounted on a 29-in.-diameter, 2-in.-thick plate simulation of a payload plate. Simulated electronic components were also mounted on the plate. The pyroshock environment simulation was created by the resonant fixture response to a projectile impact. The component response to the environment was measured at the electronic component. The component responses to the pyroshock were measured with five different shock mitigating materials inserted between the resonant fixture and the payload plate simulation, and the peak response values were tabulated.