High Powered Rocket Team Fall 2015

Project Manager Wesley M. Harpster Team Members James Lawrence Ryan Horton Karna Shah James “Trey” Simmons Irfan Shaukat Project Advisor Dr. Thomas Alberts Multi-Disciplinary Members Cindique Simmonds (EET) Derek Hampton (IT) Alexandre Misenheimer (Junior MAE) Amanda Nolan (Soph. MAE)

Overview  Project Scope  Rocket Breakdown  Avionics Bay  Flight Simulation  Commercial Motor Flights  Fuel Preparation  Research Motor Flight 1  Research Motor Flight 2  Research Motor Results  Gantt Chart  Budget

Project Scope  Objective Statement: To design and build a custom engine to successfully launch a rocket to an altitude of 10,000 feet with a payload of 5 pounds by the end of the fall 2015 semester with a budget of $2,500.  Acceptable Criteria  Attain a 10,000 foot flight using a purchased commercial motor with proper parachute deployment.  Successfully test and gather data for one custom motor prepared by the ODU Rocket Team

Rocket Breakdown  Nose Cone  Forward Body Tube  Avionics Bay  Aft Body Tube  Motor Housing  Main Parachute  Drogue Parachute

Avionics Bay Design Progression  Original Design  Single Altimeter Board mounted on an aluminum sled.  New Design  Two boards implemented for redundancy.  GPS system was added to locate rocket.  Back to Back arrangement to allow arming after rocket assembly.  Rail mounted for weight reduction.

Flight Simulation  Each flight was simulated using RASAero 2 and Open Rocket.  This produced 2 altitude levels from which an average could be taken.  The final research launch  Open Rocket = 8,104 ft.  RASAero = 8,254 ft.  Average = 8,179 ft.  Actual Altitude = 8,111 ft.  Error = %

Commercial Motor Flights Commercial Flight I  Apogee: 4,029 feet  Maximum velocity: 538 m/s  Time to apogee: 15.5 sec  Flight time: sec Commercial Flight II  Apogee: 11,960 feet  Maximum velocity: 352 m/s  Time to apogee: sec  Flight time: 206 sec

Fuel Preparation  Necessary Components of a Research Motor  Propellant Base, Mixing Agent, Plasticizer, Curing Agent, Catalyst  Mixing phases for fuel 1. Liquid components (binding agent, catalyst, plasticizer) 2. Metal oxide catalyst 3. Oxidizer  Allow the mixer to run for 3-4 hours  Apply mold release to all surfaces that are not propellant tubes  Shape and press propellant into tubes and allow to cure

Research Motor I  Propellant Composition  Propellant Base: Ammonium Perchlorate – 76.90%  Mixing Agent: Aluminum – 5.0%  Plasticizer: Dioctyl Adipate – 3.0%  Curing Agent: R45HT-LO – 13.0%  Curing Agent: E744 – 2.0%  Catalyst: Iron Oxide – 0.1%  Comparisons to a commercial motor  This motor would be similar to a white propellant.  Such as Aerotech’s White Thunder

Research Motor II  Propellant Composition  Propellant Base: 74.75% Ammonium Perchlorate  Mixing Agent: 2.54% Aluminum Powder  Plasticizer: 3.5% Dioctyl Adipate  Curing Agent: 11.74% R45HT-LO  Catalyst: 0.75% Black Copper Oxide  Stabilizer: 4.5% Strontium Carbonate  Increase Strength: 0.3% Tepanol

Research Motor Results Research Flight I  Apogee: 3,156 feet  Maximum Velocity: 157 m/s  Time to apogee: 13.6 sec  Flight Time: 84.9 sec Research Flight II  Apogee: 8,111 feet  Maximum Velocity: 803 m/s  Time to apogee: sec  Flight Time: sec

Gantt Chart

Funding SourceMAE Dept. NASA ODU Grant Dr. Bawab LoanTestingMiscellaneousLaunch PrepShippingTotal Received$354.00$1,232.45$500.00$1, $3, Spent $1,500.00$971.56$250.08$696.51$50.00$3, Total -$381.70

Questions?