ME 501 Corey Roberts Leo Montgomery Motor Plate Analysis

Unity IV background The Problem The ANSYS Model The ANSYS Results Things Learned Summary

Unity IV A multi-university effort to design and launch a hybrid rocket to an altitude of 100,000 feet. Motor Plate Analysis

Completed in 1995 Flew to an altitude of 4500 feet Demonstrated feasibility of hybrid rocket Motor Plate Analysis Stage 1

Motor Plate Analysis Launch date set for September 2001 Will fly to an altitude of 10,000 feet Will prove final design concept for 100,000 foot launch Stage 2

Airframe Avionics Oxidizer Motor Plate Analysis Recovery Testing Motor

Motor Plate Analysis Fueling Delivery of Oxidizer to Motor Abort Capability Oxidizer Team Responsibilities

Motor Plate Analysis How will the motor mounting plate behave when the rocket accelerates? The Problem

Motor Plate Analysis Weight of motor Forces acting on plate due to moment of motor Shear forces due to weight of motor Dynamic or Static? 10g loading Moment and Shear forces Constraints Modeling

Motor Plate Analysis Imported from Pro-E Shell Elements Free Mesh Resulting in 1914 Elements and 2045 Nodes ANSYS Model

Motor Plate Analysis Max Stress was 2682 psi ANSYS Results

Motor Plate Analysis Max Deflection was inches Max Deflection Occurred at Upper Bolt Hole ANSYS Results

Motor Plate Analysis Plate has a safety factor of at least 5 based on 1100 series aluminum Importing models into ANSYS from Pro-E is very easy Shell elements can greatly reduce the number of elements in a plate with bending instead of 3D brick elements Things Learned

Motor Plate Analysis Actual dynamic loading analysis Include interaction of plate with support struts Finer mesh to get actual stress concentration Find material type used to make motor plate Improvements