Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?
Graduate
Project Type
group
Campus
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Joseph Traverso
Lead Presenter's Name
Joseph Traverso
Lead Presenter's College
DB College of Engineering
Faculty Mentor Name
Dr. Eric Perrell
Abstract
The Experimental Rocket Propulsion Lab (ERPL) is a student-run organization dedicated to designing, building, and testing experimental rocket engines. With ERPL transitioning toward flight vehicles, developing engines with longer burn times is critical to future club success. One limitation to burn time is an engine’s ability to withstand extreme combustion temperatures, typically in excess of 5000 F. ERPL engines have found success with passive cooling techniques such as ablative, heatsink, and film cooling, but these techniques aren’t suitable for extended burn times. Therefore, ERPL has created the Regeneratively cooled Engine Development (R.E.D) project, with the objective to design, analyze, and test a rocket engine that employs active cooling. Active cooling, also known as regenerative cooling, is a technique that routes fuel along the engine via several small cooling channels, thereby using the fuel as a coolant. To predict engine wall temperatures, ERPL developed custom 1D and 2D heat transfer solvers found to be within 10% of commercial software. Beam bending models are implemented in MATLAB to predict fatigue life, with more detailed structural simulations carried out in ANSYS Workbench. To create geometries not easily attainable with conventional machining, R.E.D. will be additively manufactured using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF). The engine will be printed from GRCop-84 which provides high thermal conductivity and heritage in regeneratively cooled engines. Testing campaign of the R.E.D. engine will be carried out by ERPL in the fall of 2026.
Did this research project receive funding support (Spark, SURF, Research Abroad, Student Internal Grants, Collaborative, Climbing, or Ignite Grants) from the Office of Undergraduate Research?
No
The Regeneratively Cooled Engine Development (R.E.D.) Project
The Experimental Rocket Propulsion Lab (ERPL) is a student-run organization dedicated to designing, building, and testing experimental rocket engines. With ERPL transitioning toward flight vehicles, developing engines with longer burn times is critical to future club success. One limitation to burn time is an engine’s ability to withstand extreme combustion temperatures, typically in excess of 5000 F. ERPL engines have found success with passive cooling techniques such as ablative, heatsink, and film cooling, but these techniques aren’t suitable for extended burn times. Therefore, ERPL has created the Regeneratively cooled Engine Development (R.E.D) project, with the objective to design, analyze, and test a rocket engine that employs active cooling. Active cooling, also known as regenerative cooling, is a technique that routes fuel along the engine via several small cooling channels, thereby using the fuel as a coolant. To predict engine wall temperatures, ERPL developed custom 1D and 2D heat transfer solvers found to be within 10% of commercial software. Beam bending models are implemented in MATLAB to predict fatigue life, with more detailed structural simulations carried out in ANSYS Workbench. To create geometries not easily attainable with conventional machining, R.E.D. will be additively manufactured using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF). The engine will be printed from GRCop-84 which provides high thermal conductivity and heritage in regeneratively cooled engines. Testing campaign of the R.E.D. engine will be carried out by ERPL in the fall of 2026.