Pressure Drop Prediction Using CFD for a Launch Vehicle Payload Fairing Separation Ground Test

Payload fairing (PLF) separation during launch vehicle ascent is necessitated after atmospheric effects cease to exist. Performance evaluation of separation system design requires a full-scale functional ground test, where pressure drop occurring due to sudden movement plays an important role in prediction of fairing trajectory. Unsteady Euler CFD simulations are carried out in ANSYS Fluent to understand pressure drop occurring inside PLF. Factors affecting the pressure drop such as presence of satellite, peak velocity, initial gap, nose opening rate and simulation of actual joint are studied and their effects are brought out.