Yesterday Myles, Ethan, and I made three more batches of fuel. The first one we put some old fuel in, but it turned brown from the caramel and didn't turn out well. The second batch we packed in some motors and succeeded in getting our rocket off the ground, but only a little ways. With the last batch, we made a motor and put it in the rocket car. This was very cool as it shot forward a few meters and then the motor exploded out of the car and rolled around on the tennis court. Ethan had the video camera, so there should have been video as well as pictures, but something came up when uploading to the computer and they were all deleted. However, we do have the pictures (also from Ethan!):
The first batch.
The first batch again...
The result of the entire first batch burning...
The second batch (a good one!)
A Packed Engine
Monday, June 11, 2007
Sunday, June 3, 2007
A Bit of a Scare
Today Myles and I mixed up some more fuel with his hotplate. The hotplate evaporated it so fast that it caramelized and turned a dark brown color. We loaded it into the new rocket tubes with the washers in them and set up the rocket. It hissed up into the air about 5 meters then with an explosion it dropped back down. What had happened is the small washer blew off and the large bore wasn't enough thrust.
Myles also created a mortar by rolling up some fuel and loading it into a longer piece of conduit. This was very cool looking, and so was his scrap bomb, or rather, lots of the little crumbly leftovers wadded up into a piece of tinfoil. This one sent flaming balls in every direction, very cool.
The last engine we lit off had the small washer epoxied to the inside of the larger washer. The larger one was pounded into the tube with a hammer, and the surrounding metal from the tube flared out from the pounding to grip the washer. Just before this, we had lit the second of the duct tape two washer engines, which did an extremely rapid double flip in the air and landed on the ground when the small washer blew out. I was a little scared of this new one because if it had the power to rip ten layers of duct tape, it might have enough built up power to blow up, or something equally as bad. We rammed the motor into the ground and hid ourselves behind an old door. We didn't even look, we could tell what happened by the sound. The engine burned, and then blew the whole larger washer out of the tube. When we went to look, the engine was buried almost 5cm further down into the dirt. Maybe next time I'll make a better rocket to test on since the current rocket has suffered some major damage.
The Damaged Rocket
Myles also created a mortar by rolling up some fuel and loading it into a longer piece of conduit. This was very cool looking, and so was his scrap bomb, or rather, lots of the little crumbly leftovers wadded up into a piece of tinfoil. This one sent flaming balls in every direction, very cool.
The last engine we lit off had the small washer epoxied to the inside of the larger washer. The larger one was pounded into the tube with a hammer, and the surrounding metal from the tube flared out from the pounding to grip the washer. Just before this, we had lit the second of the duct tape two washer engines, which did an extremely rapid double flip in the air and landed on the ground when the small washer blew out. I was a little scared of this new one because if it had the power to rip ten layers of duct tape, it might have enough built up power to blow up, or something equally as bad. We rammed the motor into the ground and hid ourselves behind an old door. We didn't even look, we could tell what happened by the sound. The engine burned, and then blew the whole larger washer out of the tube. When we went to look, the engine was buried almost 5cm further down into the dirt. Maybe next time I'll make a better rocket to test on since the current rocket has suffered some major damage.
The Damaged Rocket
Thursday, May 31, 2007
New Construction
My dad has supplied me with a map tube as a body, and my teacher from school also let me have a tube. I used the one from school to create this rocket. The fins are made from college mail duct taped together so they are pretty flimsy but not as flimsy as the first ones. I'm not sure they are rigid enough, however. This rocket has yet to receive an engine mount. (I'm considering a larger diameter)
On a different note, I have put together three new engine casings with two washers as a nozzle. The first larger washer was pounded into the end of the casing (I was lucky enough to find some that were just a tad bigger than the mouth of the conduit) and the second smaller one was taped over it. The result is a nozzle with a smaller hole which should make more thrust.
They can be seen here, and here.
On a different note, I have put together three new engine casings with two washers as a nozzle. The first larger washer was pounded into the end of the casing (I was lucky enough to find some that were just a tad bigger than the mouth of the conduit) and the second smaller one was taped over it. The result is a nozzle with a smaller hole which should make more thrust.
They can be seen here, and here.
Monday, May 28, 2007
We Have Liftoff!!!
Monday May 28th 2007
8:30 p.m.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have liftoff! Three more engines were made using washers taped on as nozzles. Two washers were the same, one was a little bit bigger. The first on the launch pad was the large bore nozzle. It ignited fine and I observed a smaller orange jet of flame along with a large cloud of smoke. The low light probably enabled me to see the orange glow better. The rocket, however, did not move.
The second engine was one with a smaller washer on the end. This one ignited, flew a meter into the air, fell back to the ground, and burned out half the engine before the thrust blew the washer off the back of the engine.
The third and final engine took a while to ignite. My thoughts are that the ignition wire touched the inside of the washer which shorted it out. Once ignited, it flew a little ways off the pad then fell down and burned out, but the nozzle stayed put!
Pictures:
This is the ignition of the first wide bore nozzle engine.
We have liftoff!!!
The second engine burning itself out on the ground.
The third engine mid-descent.
Can you guess what this is?
8:30 p.m.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have liftoff! Three more engines were made using washers taped on as nozzles. Two washers were the same, one was a little bit bigger. The first on the launch pad was the large bore nozzle. It ignited fine and I observed a smaller orange jet of flame along with a large cloud of smoke. The low light probably enabled me to see the orange glow better. The rocket, however, did not move.
The second engine was one with a smaller washer on the end. This one ignited, flew a meter into the air, fell back to the ground, and burned out half the engine before the thrust blew the washer off the back of the engine.
The third and final engine took a while to ignite. My thoughts are that the ignition wire touched the inside of the washer which shorted it out. Once ignited, it flew a little ways off the pad then fell down and burned out, but the nozzle stayed put!
Pictures:
This is the ignition of the first wide bore nozzle engine.
We have liftoff!!!
The second engine burning itself out on the ground.
The third engine mid-descent.
Can you guess what this is?
The Third Rocket
Monday May 28th 2007
6:00p.m.
Well this afternoon I finished off my launch pad with two launch rods and a temporary tin foil heat shield. I glued the final touch, the engine mount, onto my new rocket. I had two engines left from my 5th batch of fuel, so I took one and loaded it in.
I should probably mention I've devised an Estes-like ignition system. It consists of a drill battery, a double wired cable with alligator clips, and a thin copper wire bent into an Estes fuse shape. My first attempt at the fuse was the full 8 strands of copper or however many were in the cable. That only managed to heat up the cable a lot. The next test was only a single strand of copper. This was too little as the electricity melted the wire apart and didn't ignite the engine. I finally settled on a double strand of copper wire which worked fine.
I set up the rocket, loaded the fuse into the hole and jammed some Japanese Knotweed in to hold the fuse in place. After attaching the alligators I ignited the engine. There was a spray of white smoke, but not enough to get the rocket off the ground. The smoke seemed rather weak. This was possibly due to the motors being a day old. I guess the shelf life of rocket candy isn't very long. I loaded the second motor and had the same result, so I'm more certain of the fact that the fuel was old.
Coming soon: Engines with nozzles! I've taped some washers on the end of the three newest engines in hopes that the washers will constrict the end of the engines enough to get something off the ground!
6:00p.m.
Well this afternoon I finished off my launch pad with two launch rods and a temporary tin foil heat shield. I glued the final touch, the engine mount, onto my new rocket. I had two engines left from my 5th batch of fuel, so I took one and loaded it in.
I should probably mention I've devised an Estes-like ignition system. It consists of a drill battery, a double wired cable with alligator clips, and a thin copper wire bent into an Estes fuse shape. My first attempt at the fuse was the full 8 strands of copper or however many were in the cable. That only managed to heat up the cable a lot. The next test was only a single strand of copper. This was too little as the electricity melted the wire apart and didn't ignite the engine. I finally settled on a double strand of copper wire which worked fine.
I set up the rocket, loaded the fuse into the hole and jammed some Japanese Knotweed in to hold the fuse in place. After attaching the alligators I ignited the engine. There was a spray of white smoke, but not enough to get the rocket off the ground. The smoke seemed rather weak. This was possibly due to the motors being a day old. I guess the shelf life of rocket candy isn't very long. I loaded the second motor and had the same result, so I'm more certain of the fact that the fuel was old.
Coming soon: Engines with nozzles! I've taped some washers on the end of the three newest engines in hopes that the washers will constrict the end of the engines enough to get something off the ground!
Some Rocket Science
Monday May 28th 2007
Today I researched parachutes. I had made parachutes before for the Estes model rockets but other than that I had no idea what to do. One thing I didn't know was what size to make the parachute.
After looking around a bit on the web I came across this website. It has formulas for how big to make a circular parachute depending on weight of the rocket and the desired fall velocity. I made a calculator program from that so that I could do some quick calculations. The only problem I find with this formula is that it accounts for only circular parachutes with no holes in them. A parachute with a hole in the top has much better balance and won't oscillate so much.
Today I researched parachutes. I had made parachutes before for the Estes model rockets but other than that I had no idea what to do. One thing I didn't know was what size to make the parachute.
After looking around a bit on the web I came across this website. It has formulas for how big to make a circular parachute depending on weight of the rocket and the desired fall velocity. I made a calculator program from that so that I could do some quick calculations. The only problem I find with this formula is that it accounts for only circular parachutes with no holes in them. A parachute with a hole in the top has much better balance and won't oscillate so much.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Further Testing
Sunday May 27th 2007
Batch 5: 50g KNO3 - 25g Sugar - 9.6g Karo
Rocket tubes were sprayed with silicone in hopes of creating a removable fuel grain. This did not work. Three rocket tubes were filled and one was tested today. Ethan and I lit it off backwards and noticed a distinct difference between burning without a hole poked in the middle and burning with a hole in the middle. The rocket engines have a hole poked in the bottom 1/3 of the fuel grain to increase surface area for a faster burn. This fast burning period is for the liftoff and the rest of the fuel is for continued thrust once the rocket is airborne. When igniting it backwards we observed a very steady burn followed by a much more violent faster burn at the very end.
Batch 5: 50g KNO3 - 25g Sugar - 9.6g Karo
Rocket tubes were sprayed with silicone in hopes of creating a removable fuel grain. This did not work. Three rocket tubes were filled and one was tested today. Ethan and I lit it off backwards and noticed a distinct difference between burning without a hole poked in the middle and burning with a hole in the middle. The rocket engines have a hole poked in the bottom 1/3 of the fuel grain to increase surface area for a faster burn. This fast burning period is for the liftoff and the rest of the fuel is for continued thrust once the rocket is airborne. When igniting it backwards we observed a very steady burn followed by a much more violent faster burn at the very end.
Learning About Fuel
Sunday May 20th 2007
The second rocket
Today Max D, Myles and I made the first batch of fuel. The setup consisted of:
50g KNO3
25g Sucrose
9.8g Karo Syrup
Melted at 350 C in a tin can, then poured into a tin foil tray to crystallize. Crystallization lasted 1.5 hours and did not finish. The result was some white crystals, some liquid goo, and some brown liquid goo. It burned, but not for very long. If lit, it would burn for a few seconds then go out and had to be re-lit.
Saturday May 26th 2007
Fuel Batches 2, 3, and 4
Batch 3: 50g KNO3 – 25g Sucrose – 10g Karo (added a little too much)
Added metal camping plate to replace tin foil tray.
Results: Crystallization didn't finish correctly, the liquid was probably too thick in the metal plate. Some was put into a 18cm diameter piece of steel conduit (7cm long). The rest was balled up and stored in an airtight container. The fuel in the conduit motor casing was placed in some dirt by the stream. It burned well and produced a large cloud of white smoke. The result was black stuff coating the inside, probably carbon. The ball of fuel was lit and exploded in my face. Eyelashes were singed: wear safety glasses and don't light balls of fuel.
Batches 3 and 4: 50g KNO3 – 25g Sucrose – 9g Karo
This time the mixture was stirred to reduce water content.
Result: Stirring seemed to work well. When the mixture came out of the pan it was rather liquid, but when packed into an engine casing it burned well. First rocket was made: Engine casing with fuel, paper nosecone attached to top with electrical tape, wooden skewer attached to casing bottle rocket style. The result was that the nosecone blew off the top, and the fuel burned at both ends of the casing. The rocket did not make it off the ground. Do not put a hole through the entire fuel grain. Second rocket was made: Engine casing with fuel (hole only ¼ of the way through and also a rolled up paper plug taped in with electrical tape), paper nosecone taped on with electrical tape, metal mandrel attached bottle rocket style. The results was that the fuel was too wet. Half of the fuel burned and the smoke was not as dense as usual. Again, the rocket did not make it off the ground. Make sure that the fuel is cooked fully before adding it to the engine casing.
The second rocket
The Journal
The purpose of this journal is to keep a data log of my progress with rockets. I've always been interested in fire, and after taking chemistry I decided I wanted to make fire. Then I read the book October Sky and decided I was going to make rockets.
I started by leading an experimental rocketry art block at my school, but soon discovered that the model rocket engines have a limit to them. If I was going to truly make my own rocket, I was going to have to make my own fuel. I began doing some research online and found this website which outlined the making of rocket engines using saltpeter (KNO3), sugar, and Karo syrup. I proceeded to purchase some saltpeter on eBay and began cooking up my own rocket engines. This blog contains my progress.
Space begins at 100km.
I started by leading an experimental rocketry art block at my school, but soon discovered that the model rocket engines have a limit to them. If I was going to truly make my own rocket, I was going to have to make my own fuel. I began doing some research online and found this website which outlined the making of rocket engines using saltpeter (KNO3), sugar, and Karo syrup. I proceeded to purchase some saltpeter on eBay and began cooking up my own rocket engines. This blog contains my progress.
Space begins at 100km.
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