Nakuja Project Blog

  Prep work This is a summary of the work done in preparation for the static testing. These activities were: Modification of the test stand to accommodate for higher load measurements as well as to accommodate the new size of the motor Motor Design 1.Propellant The propellant of choice was Potassium Nitrate(Oxidizer) and Dextrose(Fuel/Binder) as well as Iron (III) oxide as the burn catalyst. An oxidizer to fuel ratio of 65%:35% was used and the catalyst added to 1% of the mass of the oxidizer+fuel. The propellant was cast into two grains namely V8 and V9 to form two motors. V8 Dimensions Grain length: 150mm Grain diameter: 30mm Core diameter: 14mm V9 Dimensions Grain length: 150mm Grain diameter: 30mm Core diameter: 13mm Prior to static testing  a simulation using openMotor was done for a theoretical performance of the motor.  A link to this data is attached:  https://github.com/nakujaproject/N1-motor/tree/main/Proposed%20Final%20Spec A photo of the data is attached: V8 V9 The theoreti

  Motor Design The propellant of choice was Potassium Nitrate(Oxidizer) and Dextrose(Fuel/Binder). An oxidizer to fuel ratio of 65%:35% was used. The propellant was cast into one grain with a  total weight of 24g.  The grains had an outside diameter of 24mm and a core diameter of 7.2mm.  Prior to static testing a simulation using openMotor was done for a theoretical performance of the motor.  v6 v7 Design performance Motor Casing The casing of the motor was made from 40mm PN25 UPVC. The top side(bulkhead), as well as the nozzle, were to be made from tile cement. The bulkhead for reinforced with a PVC end cap. The nozzle was designed with the following dimensions: Throat length - 35mm Divergence half angle - 0 degrees Convergence half angle - 0 degrees Motor Fabrication The KNDX propellant was cast as follows:  The nozzle and endcap were fabricated using tile cement(grout). The grout is mixed with water in the ratio of 3:1 by weight and poured into the pipe. The cast is left to sit over