Fuel Grain Rocket
ME 140: Advanced Thermal Systems
On this project I worked with a group of five to design, manufacture, and test a series of hybrid rocket fuel grains as part of a class competition. We used a mill to machine HDPE fuel grains and a lathe to machine a graphite converging-diverging nozzle. After testing the fuel grains, we used MATLAB to analyze the results.
Our goal was to maximize total impulse of our rocket. Our strategy was to try to burn as much fuel as possible by exposing a high surface area of the HDPE. We accomplished this by placing holes such that the holes fused together when burned. This allowed us to place more holes in a smaller space, increasing our surface area. To avoid slivers, or chunks of solid material shooting out of the rocket, we left a strong bridge to hold everything together when burned. Our best firing with this design had an impulse of 786N, which was the highest impulse achieved in the competition.
Our goal was to maximize total impulse of our rocket. Our strategy was to try to burn as much fuel as possible by exposing a high surface area of the HDPE. We accomplished this by placing holes such that the holes fused together when burned. This allowed us to place more holes in a smaller space, increasing our surface area. To avoid slivers, or chunks of solid material shooting out of the rocket, we left a strong bridge to hold everything together when burned. Our best firing with this design had an impulse of 786N, which was the highest impulse achieved in the competition.