Launch Acoustics Tool Modernization and Capability Enhancement

A modernization effort for vehicle acoustic environment prediction is needed to bring legacy tools up to current standards. Two codes are presently used to support launch vehicle acoustic predictions: the Prediction of Acoustic Vehicle Environments (PAVE) tool, developed in 2014, and the Vehicle Acoustic Environment Prediction Program (VAEPP), originally written in 1987. PAVE was created to transition VAEPP’s spreadsheet based database and semi empirical workflow into a MATLAB graphical interface, enabling faster and more accessible analysis. Although VAEPP began as a BASIC program and was later migrated into an Excel driven architecture, its underlying logic and data structures remain largely unchanged.

Discrepancies have been identified between VAEPP outputs and the corresponding PAVE outputs, and two modern datasets, SMAT and SLS acoustic environments, must be incorporated into the model. Together, these gaps motivate a structured update to the program to ensure consistency, traceability, and alignment with current launch vehicle acoustics workflows.

The modernization effort includes a comparative assessment of VAEPP and PAVE prediction behavior, identification of sources of divergence, and development of an updated MATLAB implementation that resolves these issues while integrating new SMAT and SLS data products. Work may involve transcribing outdated scripts into MATLAB functions, improving data import and metadata tracking, validating prediction performance against SLS flight datasets, and proposing GUI enhancements that streamline analyst workflow. The resulting deliverables include documentation of discrepancies, updated algorithms, and verification results, along with a prototype tool.

The project also provides an opportunity to introduce new functionality. Possible enhancements include implementation of water-suppression corrections, explicit differentiation between hold-down acoustics and liftoff acoustics prediction environments, and inclusion of overpressure models.

**Eligible Applicants:** Student
**Academic Level:** Undergraduate Junior, Undergraduate Senior
**Activity Type:** In-person
**Citizenship:** US Citizen Only
**Type:** Internships