A.4.2.8 Testing When it comes to testing our rocket engines we decided to try and design a launch vehicle which could be tested here at Purdue’s Zucrow High Pressure Laboratories. After some research into the test labs at Purdue we as a team got a much better understanding of what we could accomplish here. For testing rocket engines there are certain things that a facility must have in order to have a successful test. For example the test stand at Purdue’s high pressure laboratories contains not only a 10,000 pound thrust stand, but also the capability to test liquid propellants such as hydrogen peroxide, liquid oxygen and liquid hydrocarbon. The facility currently has propellant tanks and tubing for these fuel and oxidizer types. This was also a factor in determining the propellant type for some of our designs. For example our hybrid rocket engines incorporate hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as the oxidizer. Because of this Purdue would be a suitable candidate for testing. As for solid rocket engines there is no propellant that needs to be fed into the system because the test engine already has the solid propellant (fuel and oxidizer) built in. Because of this fact the only parameter that needs to be looked at for Purdue testing would be the test stands maximum thrust capability. After researching Zucrow laboratories on Purdue’s website and through various web articles and a visit to Zucrow we determined exactly how big of a rocket the facility could handle.1 Some of the restrictions at Zucrow Laboratories are given below in Table A.4.2.8.1. Table A.4.2.8.1: Purdue’s Zucrow Laboratories facility restrictions. Maximum Capability Value Units Thrust 44,480 N Chamber Pressure 4.137 MPa Mass Flow Rate 6.803 kg/s In the beginning of our design we to stay within these parameters. The first iteration of designs tried to keep these parameters as a limit to the performance of our rocket engine. On top
A.4.2.8 Testing When it comes to testing our rocket engines we decided to try and design a launch vehicle which could be tested here at Purdue’s Zucrow High Pressure Laboratories. After some research into the test labs at Purdue we as a team got a much better understanding of what we could accomplish here. For testing rocket engines there are certain things that a facility must have in order to have a successful test. For example the test stand at Purdue’s high pressure laboratories contains not only a 10,000 pound thrust stand, but also the capability to test liquid propellants such as hydrogen peroxide, liquid oxygen and liquid hydrocarbon. The facility currently has propellant tanks and tubing for these fuel and oxidizer types. This was also a factor in determining the propellant type for some of our designs. For example our hybrid rocket engines incorporate hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as the oxidizer. Because of this Purdue would be a suitable candidate for testing. As for solid rocket engines there is no propellant that needs to be fed into the system because the test engine already has the solid propellant (fuel and oxidizer) built in. Because of this fact the only parameter that needs to be looked at for Purdue testing would be the test stands maximum thrust capability. After researching Zucrow laboratories on Purdue’s website and through various web articles and a visit to Zucrow we determined exactly how big of a rocket the facility could handle.1 Some of the restrictions at Zucrow Laboratories are given below in Table A.4.2.8.1. Table A.4.2.8.1: Purdue’s Zucrow Laboratories facility restrictions. Maximum Capability Value Units Thrust 44,480 N Chamber Pressure 4.137 MPa Mass Flow Rate 6.803 kg/s In the beginning of our design we to stay within these parameters. The first iteration of designs tried to keep these parameters as a limit to the performance of our rocket engine. On top
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