University of Florida Hybrid
Rocket Team’s Mile High Club
PDR Presentation
Brought to you by
Sam, Chris, Travis, Alex, Ty, and Josh
Major Change Since Proposal
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Change of Material: Only basalt fiber and epoxy will be used to construct
the body tube of the rocket, instead of the four different types of composite
materials mentioned in the proposal.
Consequentially Only strain measurements of a basalt body tube will be
measured.
Notes on Basalt:
1. Limited use in U.S. aerospace
applications
2. Slightly higher elastic modulus
than fiberglass
3. Much higher operating
temperature than fiberglass
4. Slightly denser than fiberglass
5. About the same cost as fiberglass
Vehicle Design
Vehicle Dimensions
Flight Plan (Vehicle Perspective)
Launch to Apogee
Apogee to Chute Deployment
Chute Deployment
to Ground
Motor
• Primary motor J1999
• Possible Alternates K1100, J800
Thrust Curve
Vehicle Materials/Manufacturing
• Airframe Construction
Vehicle Materials/Manufacturing
• Fins
• Tip to Tip Reinforcement
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd_tN5NNPM
1:05
Recovery System Design
Layout
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Ejection Charges
Recovery wadding
Parachute
Parachute Chords
Specifics
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Pyrodex based ejection charges
Recovery wadding: to be determined
through testing
Parachute chord: to be determined through
testing
Parachute: 27” X-Form for deployed
terminal velocity of about 10 mph
Mission Performance Predictions
• Used RockSim to determine the weight of the rocket to reach slightly
above 5,280 and also stay underneath Mach 1.
• Simulations: Apogee at 5,870 feet. Max Velocity at 670 ft/sec
• More simulations will be run before and after test launches to
optimize performance
Vehicle Safety and Stability
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Stability Margin is 1.37
Testing Dates:
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January 6th-13th : Initial Recovery System Testing
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January 16th: Subscale Launch Test
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March 6th: Full scale Launch Test
Initial Recovery System Testing
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Ejection Charge
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Initial estimate of powder needed made using
charge calculator
Charge made to estimated specs testing in
test rig.
Observe and record results.
Repeat as necessary until desired ejection is
acheived.
Subscale and Full scale Tests
• The Subscale Launch Test will test a half scale model of the full
scale rocket. It will use a G125 motor from Aerotech.
• Primary objectives: to assess the functionality of the recovery
system, the accelerometers and pressure system, and the stability
of the rocket design.
• The Full scale Launch Test will test the actual rocket to be used in
the competition.
• Primary objectives: To check that all systems are correctly
functioning, and if necessary, which systems need to be altered to
achieve the desired function. To check if redesigning parameters of
the rocket, such as the weight, is necessary.
Payload
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20 strain gages located in the payload section of the rocket
Will measure both the lateral strain and axial strain of the basalt fiber body tube as a
function of distance along the body tube and time of experiment.
Hopefully the data acquired from this experiment will help in the optimization of rocket
airframe design.
Drag Force
Drag Force
Payload test section
Thrust
Thrust
Payload
• RockSim simulation of drag force versus time
• We expect our strain measurements to mirror the shape
of the drag force graph below
Payload Integration
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The strain gages will be located in the payload section of the body tube
They will be isolated from both ejection charges with solid couplers
Inner tube contains altimeters, data
logger, accelerometers, and other
electronics
Strain gages located on
the inside of the body
tube
Payload Testing
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By February 20, 2010
Elastic behavior of basalt fiber will be analyzed with load cells and strain gages in the
Mechanics of Materials Laboratory at UF.
A small test section of basalt fiber will be constructed and brought into the lab to
measure the strain experienced under axial compressive loading.
Omega corner
rosettes
Goals
• Implement strain gauges
• Build data logger
• Fly Rocket
Proposed Rocket Layout
• Removable electronics module
• Survivable at high g's during
launch
Onboard Controller
Prelaunch
• Rocket will talk with computer and verify link
• Rocket will wait impatiently for the launch
• Rocket will record to SD card all channels to SD card
at 1Hz
• Rocket will send all data to base station at 1Hz
Launch to Apogee
• Rocket will record all channels to SD card at high data
rate 100Hz
• Rocket will send data to the base station at 1 Hz
• Rocket may turn yellow
Apogee
• Rocket will sense apogee to deploy chutes according
to preset altitude/time constraints
• Rocket will continue to log data
Landing
• If still intact and in range the rocket will log data at
1Hz
• Rocket will continually send GPS location
• Rocket will transmit flight log to ground station for
processing
Conclusion
• More analysis to be done on strain calculations and how our data
can benefit the design of rocket airframes
• Parts for initial recovery system testing and subscale rocket
construction need to be ordered as soon as possible