Small Hybrid Rocket Engine

Project Background

When I was a junior in high school, I kept finding myself saying "when I get to college and join a project team, I will do..." One day I sat down and really thought about it, and realized that I could make a (very bad) rocket engine at home. I decided I wouold make a hybrid rocket engine, and all the electronics needed to command it and record data.

The components

The hybrid motor itself was a 1 foot long, 1" NPT pipe nipple that I got from home depot. It then reduced to 1/2" hose, which ran to a solenoid valve and check valve. I had found a broken SLA 3D printer and while I was fixing it, I decided to try to conduct some firings with a 1" to 1/4" NPT reducer. The engine control computer was powered by an arduino mega, and logged temperature data to an sd card, as well as controlling a solenoid valve, and powering a taser I modified to light the engine. The fuel grain for the engine was a 3D printed piece of ABS, that had geometry on top of it to allow 2 wires to create a spark inside the main chamber. The oxidizer for the engine was just a gaseous oxygen welding cylinder I got from my local hardware store, which I got gas out of with a home brewing adapter.

The hybrid rocket engine starting up

The hybrid rocket engine's control computer and associated hradware.

The hybrid rocket engine firing at steady state.

The ABS 3D printed hybrid fuel grain with igniter geometry in seperate part.

The hybrid rocket engine firing while attached to a gokart.