A novel launch dynamics measurement system for multiple launch rocket system and comparative analysis with numerical simulations

In this paper, a novel launch dynamics measurement system based on the photoelectric sensor pair is built. The actual muzzle time (i.e. a time duration that originates from the initial movement to the rocket’s departure from the muzzle) and the muzzle velocity are measured. Compared with the classical methods, the actual muzzle time is obtained by eliminating the ignition delay. The comparative analysis method is proposed with numerical simulations established by the transfer matrix method for multibody systems. The experiment results indicate that the proposed measurement system can effectively measure the actual muzzle time and reduce the error of classical methods, which match well with the simulation results showing the launch dynamics model is reliable and helpful for further analysis and design of the MLRS.