We have been very busy as of lately! We are currently working on three performance propellants: Red Dawn, Fatboy, and High Energy. Red Dawn is a moderately efficient, dense propellant to be used primarily in hobby-level rocket motors. Fatboy and High Energy are more extreme. Fatboy is an extremely dense propellant that aims to get 10% more performance in large rocket motors than high aluminum propellants, and High Energy is an incredibly efficient propellant that works in almost any size rocket motor.
Before I start discussing the propellants, I would like to quickly go over the new test stand. It is made of 1-5/8" Unistrut zinc-plated steel channels bolted together (no welding required!). Here is a quick picture of it ready to go:
Before I start discussing the propellants, I would like to quickly go over the new test stand. It is made of 1-5/8" Unistrut zinc-plated steel channels bolted together (no welding required!). Here is a quick picture of it ready to go:
The DAQ system uses a WinDAQ DI-1100 DAQ, pressure transducer, and load cell. It records data at 100 Hz, limited by the load cell's amplifier. This test stand is good for up to shorter 98mm motors. In the picture above, there setup was ready to fire MIT's Cherry Limeade propellant in a Loki 54/2800 case.
Red Dawn
Red Dawn has gone through several iterations in its lifespan. It started with an inefficient mix that was basically goop. Before curing, it didn't pour well, the flame wasn't pretty, and it wasn't dense. Basically, it was useless. However, through a process of iterative design, it has become a mighty propellant. It is now very efficient for what it is, dense, and most importantly, usable. Here is a recent firing of it:
This test proved that the propellant is almost ready for larger scale tests. Its efficiency matched the simulations nicely and gave a gorgeous red flame.
Fatboy
Don't be turned away by the lack of seriousness of the name; Fatboy is a force to be reckoned with. With Fatboy, we made a major turn away from traditional propellants. Instead of increasing efficiency, we went with increasing the density and lowering efficiency. However, because the propellant is so dense, more fits into each motor casing, giving a net increase in total impulse than an efficient propellant. Even though this sounds very nice and convenient, performance comes with a cost. It is currently our most expensive propellant by a long shot. We have recently fired it in the Loki 76/6000 case. Even though it didn't perform well, we learned from this test and are changing it drastically on further iterations:
High Energy
High Energy is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Fatboy. It is basically a metal fire, which intrinsically burn very hot. This increased heat gives it incredible efficiency but the propellant burns so hot that extreme measures need to be taken to prevent the aluminum casing from melting down. This put aside, we have made several motors with it that have blown us away with each burn. Additionally, this propellant uses tricks to get the metal to combust in smaller case sizes, making it more usable on our size level of motors (i.e. not Space Shuttle Boosters!). Metals in propellants take a long time to combust, and having efficient propellants at this scale is a nice option to have. Recently, it pulled 1700 psi in the Loki 54/2800, boosting a rocket to 15k feet. We also burned it in the 76/6000 case, and it is one of our most successful burns to date:
We are very excited to keep playing around with all of these propellants and optimizing them for use in bigger and better motors.
Until next time,
SaturnV_
Until next time,
SaturnV_