Timeline
3 MONTHS
Skills
FEA
MECHANICAL DESIGN
DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING
Collaborators
SOLO PROJECT !
For the bulkhead that holds the injector plate the goal was to create a component that meets the
following requirements:
- Simplifies the integration and assembly process as much as possible
- Integrates with the thrust transfer system and the carbon fiber covers
- Allow the injector plate to be easily replaced without replacing the whole component
- Reduce mass of components as much as possible while still maintaining a min FOS of 2 with a max expected operating pressure (MEOP) of 500PSI
The component has mounting points for the thrust transfer bars, carbon fiber shell as well as a flang that mounts directly to the run valve. The injector is held into the combustion chamber by 24 ¼-20 bolts that are countersunk into the combustion chamber wall. The lowest FOS for the chamber is a shear out failure with an FOS of 2.21.
Due to the amount of intergration points it was difficult to design so early in the year and many design decisions had to be made (such as how do you mount the carbon fiber shell).
With FEA I reduced the mass as much as possible while still keeping the component manufacturable. I was able to reduce the mass from the previous year by over 50% with more design requirements than ever.
Planned testing this week (Feb 3 2026):
- Hydrostatic test to 750 PSI
- Injector characterisation
- Intergration test
