THIS SMALL LIQUID ROCKET ENGINE HAS BEEN A LONG-TERM PROJECT OF MINE. IT USES ETHANOL AND GASEOUS OXYGEN AS PROPELLANTS, AND IS DESIGNED TO PRODUCE AROUND 30 LBF. I RECENTLY BEGAN TESTING THIS ENGINE, AND IT HAS MANAGED TO PRODUCE 15LBF OF THRUST AT SLIGHTLY LESS THAN HALF OF MAX PROPELLANT FLOW. HIGHER QUALITY PICTURES OF TESTING COMING SOON!
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THE CHAMBER IS MOUNTED ON A TEST STAND FABRICATED FROM MIG WELDED STEEL TUBE AND WATERJET CUT STEEL PLATE. ALL COMPONENTS OF THE STAND AND ENGINE ARE DESIGNED BY MYSELF, AND I ALSO PERSONALLY MANUFACTURED ALL COMPONENTS EXCEPT FOR THE NOZZLE AND INJECTOR.
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A MAJOR PART OF THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN GENERATING COMPREHENSIVE INDUSTRY-STANDARD DOCUMENTATION, FROM CAD THAT FEATURES BOTH SURFACE AND SOLID MODELING, SOLIDWORKS ROUTING AND WELDMENTS, TO STANDARDIZED PROCESS AND INSTRUMENTATION DIAGRAMS. I HAVE ALSO DEVELOPED A RIGOROUS OXYGEN CLEANING PROCESS THAT EXCEEDS RELEVANT CGA AND ASTM STANDARDS, AND DISCUSSED IT WITH INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS.
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THE ROCKET ALSO DEMANDS A COMPLEX SUPPORT ECOSYSTEM, INCLUDING OXYGEN SENSORS, PRESSURE TRANSDUCERS, AND CUSTOM INTERFACING WITH PROPRIETARY VALVE CONTROLS. THE PROGRAMMING OF THE DATA COLLECTION AND CONTROL SYSTEM HAS GIVEN ME EXCELLENT PRACTICAL PRACTICE WITH APPLIED CONTROL ARCHITECTURE AS WELL AS EFFECTIVE DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS. THE END RESULT WAS A DAQ WITH LIVE DISPLAY OF ALL SENSOR READOUTS THAT CALIBRATED AUTOMATICALLY AND WAS CAPABLE OF COLLECTING DATA AT 61HZ. LIMITED PRIMARILY BY I/O AND THE 80HZ SAMPLE RATE OF THE LOAD CELL, I INTEND TO MAKE MY NEXT DAQ OPERATE IN THE 100S OF HZ.