Liquid-Solid Rocket Motor
Project Details
For this project, I worked as the Lead Test Engineer and Test Conductor as a part of a team of seven to develop a model for a liquid-solid hybrid rocket motor. We machined our parts based on SolidWorks designs and tested the motor in a hazardous test cell. Finally, we compared the data collected during the motor test to the model we had created.
SolidWorks Part Design
Nozzle
This de Laval nozzle aimed to regulate flow of the superheated exhaust of our rocket motor. It also aimed to ensure supersonic flow so that we could maximize thrust.
Injector Plate
This injector plate was designed so that we could have a symmetrical model. The five holes in the plate allow flow through to the fuel grain and nozzle.
Fuel Grain
This fuel grain aimed to have a long burn, beginning with a small hole that can be burned through to create a larger surface area as the burn continues.
Data Comparison
Chamber Pressure
Our data collection system malfunctioned when trying to collect chamber pressure data. The orange line represents our modeled pressure and the blue line represents the data that was recorded during hot fire.
Thrust
Despite being slightly offset in terms of time, the modeled vs. actual thrust is pretty close which gave us a basis to makes changes to our model should we need to. Our highest recored thrust was around 414 Newtons.
Oxidizer Pressure
Our modeled oxidizer pressure showed a logarithmic decay, however the actual test showed a more linear drop with fluctuations, however this is still a good model that we can use again should we need to.