Senior Capstone Design Project for Preparing Undergraduate Students for Work in a Research and Engineering Environment

Abstract

This paper describes the experience of student-faculty research on the combustion of nonconventional bio-derived fuels in a lab-scale Hybrid Propellant Rocket Engine (HPRE) performed in the framework of senior capstone design project. The long-term goal of the project, which was started in 2010, is the study of the peculiarities of the combustion of nonconventional bio-derived hybrid propellant rocket fuels such as paraffin, beeswax, lard and fuels with an additive (aluminum powder) which are non-toxic and non-explosive with conventional oxidizers. The 2014/15 study was focused on obtaining regression rates for pure beeswax and beeswax with 10% aluminum flake powder (CAS 7429-90-5), and investigating the losses of melted unburned fuel. Such fuels could replace conventional fuels and are going to be used on NASA’s sounding rockets. A lab-scale HPRE, test fixture and instrumentation system have been designed, manufactured, assembled and used for the research and analysis of combustion. The results of the research were presented at the 50 and 51 AIAA Meeting and Exhibits, and SciTech, 52 and 53 Aerospace Sciences Meetings. The paper presents senior capstone design team research previously done and this year’s new findings, such as regression rate formulas for pure beeswax and beeswax with 10% aluminum powder along with the study of losses of unburned melted fuel.