Coolant passage segmentation influence on regenerative-cooling effectiveness for small spacecraft thrusters

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the effect of varying the number of cooling passages in a regeneratively-cooled rocket combustion chamber and nozzle analog for a small spacecraft thruster producing 22N (5lbf) thrust. Most chemical rocket satellite thrusters are radiation-cooled and utilize toxic monopropellant hydrazine, but the emergence of low-toxicity, higher-performance green propellants is reducing system costs of pre-launch loading procedures. Due to their high water content, green propellants necessitate large on-board power requirements to ignite. Additionally, they burn at elevated flame temperatures compared to conventional hydrazine, requiring more exotic refractory metals to comprise the catalyst bed and thrust chamber for withstanding decomposition temperatures. By utilizing regenerative cooling, not only can the propellants become preheated, thereby reducing ignition power requirements, but the lower thrust chamber temperatures maintained allow for less expensive metal alloys. In this study, additive manufacturing was used for developing the thrust chamber, and atomic diffusion additive manufacturing formed the stainless steel test hardware. Testing involved firing solid propellant rocket motors as a gas generator to replicate elevated-pressure, high-temperature environments characteristic of chemical rocket propulsion systems to understand thermal changes in the coolant flow and nozzle surface temperatures. A single annular cooling passage was segmented by 4, 8, and 12 walls to determine cooling effectiveness for each configuration by measuring water coolant temperature rise and external surface temperature at the nozzle throat. An analytical heat transfer model was also developed to calculate these temperatures and heat flux for comparison to the experimental study. Results indicate that fewer, wider cooling passages were more effective at cooling the thrust chamber, with a single, unsegmented annulus being the most effective for heat transfer to the cooling fluid. A single cooling passage resulted in 55% cooling effectiveness, while 12 segmented passages had just 46%. By integrating few cooling passages in junction with additive manufacturing for small-scale rocket thrust chambers, higher flame temperatures may be sustained, and favorable potential is shown for utilizing non-refractory alloys with green propellants to achieve lower costs for in-space propulsion systems

Argonia Cup senior capstone competition: Final presentation

The goal of this project was to design and develop a rocket that could get a payload golf ball to at least 8,000 AGL and then return it as close to the X on the ground as possible. In order to achieve this goal, we decided to design an integrated deployable quadcopter UAC that would deploy at apogee and then autonomously fly itself back to the designated target location. This concept has never been achieved before and therefore we wanted to be the first to successfully complete the mission. Despite our work and determination we were unsuccessful of a true recovery however we believe we have made the most progress and had the most success of anyone attempting such a feat at the high-powered rocketry level

Rocket launched autonomous quadcopter final report

The goal of this project was to design and develop a rocket that could get a payload golf ball to at least 8,000 AGL and then return it as close to the X on the ground as possible. In order to achieve this goal, we decided to design an integrated deployable quadcopter UAC that would deploy at apogee and then autonomously fly itself back to the designated target location. This concept has never been achieved before and therefore we wanted to be the first to successfully complete the mission. Despite our work and determination we were unsuccessful of a true recovery however we believe we have made the most progress and had the most success of anyone attempting such a feat at the high-powered rocketry level

Fleating resonance group show.

Art exhibition