Liquid Rocket Engine Combustion Chamber

• Tessa Burke
• Joshua Gaode
• James Huffaker

Advisor: Atif Yardimic, PhD

Sponsor: Patrick Lynch, PhD

A​ ​liquid​ ​propellant​ ​rocket​ ​is​ ​the​ ​most​ powerful​​ ​method​ ​of​ ​delivering​ ​payloads​ ​into​ ​outer​ ​Earth​ ​orbit. AIAA’s​ ​goal​ ​for​ ​this​ ​senior​ ​design​ ​is​ ​to​ continue​ ​development​ ​of​ ​a​ ​liquid​ ​propellant​ ​rocket​ ​designed to reach an altitude​ ​of​ ​145,000​ ​feet. RP-1 and hydrogen peroxide fluid properties are determined after injection by the injector plate, which are used in ANSYS simulations of gas flow. The chamber length is needed to optimize the burn within the combustor, which was approximated using the throat diameter of the nozzle. CFD simulations are modeled in ANSYS Fluent to analyze the performance of the combustion chamber design. The construction of the engine will be made out of 4130 chromoly steel, used in the aerospace industry for its resistance to corrosion and temperature. Due to the extreme heat of combustion, the engine will need to be insulated. A layer of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM)  rubber is used as a sacrificial layer to insulate the combustor during firing. The nozzle will be made out of graphite and is designed to be replaceable after each launch.

See supporting documentation in the team’s Box drive.