My name is William Kelly and I'm currently a senior at BASIS Oro Valley, outside of Tucson, AZ. I plan to major in chemical engineering, but who knows, maybe I'll play around with another field of engineering as well. As a senior at BASIS OV, I have the opportunity to pursue a Senior Research Project: something that serves as a meaningful introduction to university-level research, and something that is fun for me as well. My advisors and I have settled on a bit of an engineering challenge for my project; I will be designing and fabricating a small-scale rocket engine system and testing various reactants with it. As of now, I believe that my design and testing will be for a hybrid rocket motor, one with reactants in different states (liquid/solid, or gas/solid being the most common). The purpose of choosing this as my project is primarily to challenge myself, but also to get an introduction to various engineering disciplines. My research project is being conducted through an internship at Mishaal Aerospace, operating here in Tucson. I will upload more about that and my advisors in the future.
As of now, I am in the research/planning phase of my project. I have been reading from Rocket Propulsion Elements, 7th Ed., by Sutton and Biblarz. This textbook is giving me the basis for the design of my rocket motor system. I am also in the process of choosing my fuels and oxidizers for a hybrid rocket system. As of now, I intend to run tests with both nitrous oxide (N2O) and liquid oxygen (LOX). As for the solid fuels, I am still deciding. As far as the chemical engineer in me wants, I think I will experiment with a compound called HTPB (Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene). As per my advisors' suggestions, I seek to mix HTPB with various compounds (mostly metals) that alter the reaction process, and measure differences in force output. Asphalt, rubber, and kerosene/paraffin are also potential fuels at the time. If I have time left over, I might even run a test using a less conventional fuel... something edible perhaps. For now, I am continuing to grasp the basics and explore options for my design and testing. I hope to soon produce a realistic test matrix for fuels/oxidizers/additives, and jump in to the fabrication process.And for those who are wondering, hybrid rockets are safe... relatively speaking-I don't plan on burning off any eyebrows.
Things are sure to get exciting in a couple weeks as I get to start building, and eventually, loading and testing.
Wish me luck, and thanks for viewing!
