December 2023
End of Year Review and Update
Summary of Progress in 2023
I started the year without a clear vision for this project, not even planning to make a full engine at the time. As my acoustic resonance igniter project lost momentum I started working on an electric centrifugal pump and the larger engine project began to take shape in my head. Late in the spring semester I adapted my igniter test stand to use GOX and Kerosene and, in the last couple days before leaving for my internship, I successfully hotfired a GOX/kerosene augmented spark igniter. Over the summer I brainstormed ideas for the pumps and the overall system, sizing components and developing early CAD. When I returned home in mid august, I quickly got to work on the kerosene pump. By the end of September I successfully reached nominal flow rate and pressure on the fuel pump and started shifting gears to the LOX pump. By the end of October I had developed a proof-of-concept electric centrifugal pump which I tested with water. The pump eventually exceeded 19,000 RPM and generated 220psia at the discharge. While planning a new iteration of the pump moving closer to a cryo-compatible design, I began building the thrust chamber and experimenting with custom valve and actuator assemblies. As the year comes to a close I am continuing to work on all aspects of the project, focusing mostly on producing the new centrifugal pump and brainstorming for the test stand.
Upcoming Goals in 2024
I aim to test a centrifugal pump with LN2 before summer. I am currently developing an iteration that is very close to being cryo-compatible. I have shrunk the additive part of the casing as much as practical to make it more affordable. The first build of this pump will use all metal parts except a plastic housing, and be tested with water. After that, the plastic housing will be replaced with a metal-additive version and the design will be ready to test with LN2. This goal goes hand in hand with building and activating a more capable test stand. I will be making cryo valves and a flowmeter to support this test. A big task for me to finish is writing the software that will control the test stand. The software I wrote to run the igniter tests did not have a GUI (graphical user interface) which is something that I really want to have when running more complex tests. While testing the LOX pump with cryo before summer is a primary goal I have set for myself, I will also likely be making progress on other aspects of the project in the spring as well. I think it would be cool, if possible, to hotfire the igniter while its installed in the thrust chamber, using the engine fuel pump and a gox canister.
