Recovery Projects
RC1: Parachutes and Harness
On the parachutes and harness project, we work to design a configuration of parachutes and harness to safely return the rocket from its highest point (apogee) back down to the ground. There are two parachutes to consider for rocket recovery: the drogue parachute and the main parachute. The drogue is a smaller parachute that deploys first and is designed to stabilize and slow the descent. The larger main parachute follows and further slows down the rocket for its final descent. The harness is designed to connect both these parachutes to the rocket in a way that properly controls the sequence in which they deploy. Designing this system requires careful testing to ensure that the parachutes deploy properly and to ensure that both the parachutes and the harness are built to withstand the high force created by the inflation of the parachutes, otherwise known as the opening shock.
On this project, members will gain hands-on experience throughout both the manufacturing and testing of the system. Students will be involved in the designing of the parachute and harness system as well as the manufacturing which involves cutting and sewing components together. They will also be involved in numerous tests to gather relevant data to verify the effectiveness of our system. These tests may involve test launches such as the one we were able to do in New York state, drop tests or wind tunnel tests.
RC2: Ejection
Ejection is the process that splits the rocket to allow parachute deployment. We currently rely on a dual-bay, dual-deployment system, and are developing a reliable pneumatic ejection system to replace black powder as we strive to reach higher altitudes. The current system is made of an epoxy-sealed chargewell that contains a very small amount of black powder, a puncture pin, and a spring, and onto which we screw a CO2 canister,
Throughout the year, we will work on redesigning the puncture mechanism to improve consistency. We might also work on improving the efficiency of our black powder ejection through better sealing of the charge wells, amongst other potential solutions. To be considered successful, our system needs to be able to break shear pins and fully separate the rocket to facilitate parachute deployment.
As part of the ejection project, you will be contributing at every point of the design phase. Your job includes designing and modeling the parts, testing the new ejection system, and more.
RC3: Recovery Structures
The goal of this project is to design, test, and manufacture the internal structures of the recovery system, mainly the plates. We work to ensure these structures can withstand the mechanical stresses experienced during the parachute ejections, while also minimizing weight and ensuring ease of manufacturing and assembly. Specifically, these structures serve to support the weight of the rocket and prevent pressure leaks in order to guarantee the stages of a safe descent.
This project integrates mechanical design principles with simulations (FEA) and hands-on testing to ensure structural integrity of all components. In addition, we work closely with other projects to ensure that the system integrates seamlessly.
In this project we will use Siemens NX to perform computer aided design (CAD) and finite element analyses (FEA), and create technical drawings to refine and change our parts.