Development of the Normative Framework Methodology for Justifying the Residual Resource of Starting Buildings' Constructions of Space Launch Vehicles.

The results of development of the normative framework for justifying the residual resource of starting building constructions of space launch vehicles for placing spacecrafts of various purposes into the Earth orbits are presented. Created starting complexes are successfully operated in various countries around the world where space-rocket hardware is well-developed; they represent a set of functionally interconnected mobile and stationary technical objects, control equipment and constructions designed to support and conduct all types of work with start preparation and rockets launching. Their features depend on the type and power of the launch vehicles, infrastructure characteristics (the location of the complex, the nomenclature of space objects, development level in the space-rocket technology area), and tasks which are solved during launching, etc. The solution of various issues, which arise while making the normative framework for justifying the resource of starting complexes, is caused by the need to consider the problems of strength and resource of heterogeneous elements of their designs and space-rocket technology designs. The main methodological stages of resource justification are defined. The limiting resource is considered to be the critical operating time, or the number of cycles (starts) during this time, after which the specified limiting states are reached in the hazardous areas of the structure, such as: critical cracks, fracture, formation of unacceptable plastic deformations, loss of stability, growth of corrosion damages, etc. It is noted that the physical nonlinearity of the material and statistical approaches determine the basis for calculating strength and resource. The classification of loads on the starting complexes is made. The concepts of low- and high-cycle fatigue are used. In developing strength standards and the basis for calculating resource, it is reasonable to use up-to-date methods of technical diagnostics, particularly, methods of holographic interferometry and acoustic emission, and fast-converging schemes of methods for numerical operational calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]