Design and Performance of Modular 3-D Printed Solid-Propellant Rocket Airframes

Abstract

Solid-propellant rockets are used for many applications, including military technology, scientific research, entertainment, and aerospace education. This study explores a novel method for design modularization of the rocket airframes, utilizing additive manufacturing (AM) technology. The new method replaces the use of standard part subsystems with complex multi-function parts to improve customization, design flexibility, performance, and reliability. To test the effectiveness of the process, two experiments were performed on several unique designs: (1) ANSYS CFX ® simulation to measure the drag coefficients, the pressure fields, and the streamlines during representative flights and (2) fabrication and launch of the developed designs to test their flight performance and consistency. Altitude and 3-axis stability was measured during the eight flights via an onboard instrument package. Data from both experiments demonstrated that the designs were effective, but varied widely in their performance; the sources of the performance differences and errors were documented and analyzed. The modularization process reduced the number of parts dramatically, while retaining good performance and reliability. The specific benefits and caveats of using extrusion-based 3-D printing to produce airframe components are also demonstrated.

Exploring an AM-Enabled Combination-of-Functions Approach for Modular Product Design

“…In this paradigm, the modularization of a product or system is a design method where the system is divided into well-defined units; ideally, these units can be designed and manufactured independently from each other and then integrated together by the design teams or a dedicated team of systems engineers; a secondary goal is often to use each unit in more than one product. The overall goal is to produce more product flexibility, increase design and manufacturing efficiency, overcome manufacturing problems, improve customer usability, and decrease overall product cost [20,60,84,90]. A number of generic principles can be derived to best use and harvest value from the modular design process [60,91,92]:…”

“…An effective, though not widely considered, method for modular or semi-modular design is enabled by AM technologies [4,60,98]. The ability of AM to make parts of almost unlimited complexity and with high functionality is the key [39,98].…”

“…The ability of AM to make parts of almost unlimited complexity and with high functionality is the key [39,98]. The concept is simple: when possible, replace the subsystems within the overall system with complex parts that each have the functionality of a subsystem [60]. The benefits of modular design can still be realized, but with many fewer system interfaces and with a simpler design process.…”

“…In the cases where AM is applicable and feasible to use in manufacturing the system and part consolidation or recombination are useful, the concepts of DFAM can be applied to modular systems; under this concept, components that were formerly designed as sub-assemblies can now be designed as single parts with many built-in functions, drastically decreasing the time and cost involved in designing, developing, integrating, and producing them. This definition of modular design by part consolidation was first described in detail by Hernandez et al [60] in the context of rocket airframe design. The present study further explores and develops the concept for more general engineering design.…”

Progress in Additive Manufacturing of Energetic Materials: Creating the Reactive Microstructures with High Potential of Applications

“…The governing principles of additive manufacturing vary widely from deposition of vaporized substances [14,15] to printing with piezoelectrically ejected droplets [16,17]. Recent breakthroughs in additive manufacturing are associated with the accessibility of 3D printing, which has been successfully applied in diverse fields [18][19][20], including military [16,21] and aerospace [22][23][24][25]. The manufactured formulations here contain the same principal components as those in reactive composites (metals, polymers, and metal oxides), allowing us to hypothesize the usefulness and power of 3D printing for energetics.…”