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Design Analysis of Rocket Tail Fins Aimed at Higher Apogee by Computer Simulation

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Conference

2022 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference

Location

Newark, New Jersey

Publication Date

April 22, 2022

Start Date

April 22, 2022

End Date

April 23, 2022

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

10

DOI

10.18260/1-2--40047

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/40047

Download Count

4528

Paper Authors

biography

Justyn Allen Bunkley University of Maryland, Baltimore County

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Justyn is an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, currently working to obtain a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. After completing his undergraduate studies, Justyn looks to pursue higher education and obtain a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering.

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biography

Marc J Louise O. Caballes Morgan State University

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Mr. Marc Caballes was born and raised in Bogo City, Philippines. He arrived here in America last 2009. As a kid, every time his Mom asked him to do something, he always looked for the most efficient approach to get the job done. Thus, it is no surprise that he is currently pursuing a doctorate in Systems Engineering at Morgan State University (MSU), where his Professors help him enhance his capabilities in looking for the most optimal solution while delivering quality results. Some people might say that it is okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. However, Mr. Caballes beg to differ. For him, it is more convenient to eliminate that “mistake” before it happens. Hence, he always wants to have an outcome of a 99.9998% success rate (mistake-proof). Marc has extensive knowledge and experience in Additive Manufacturing (AM), 3D Modeling and Design, Design of Experiments (DOE), Systems and Reliability Engineering, Lean Practices and Techniques, and Process Simulations.

Aside from being a Professor in Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering Department at Baltimore City Community College (BCCC), Marc is the team lead in MSU’s Liquid Propellant Rocket Subtask Team, where he reviews and designs the essential rocket components such as the nose cone and all the way to the rocket’s boat tail. In addition, he is also responsible for leading diverse and highly motivated engineering students in the RockOn program, where they implement and test a rocket payload that can measure and record the acceleration, humidity, pressure, temperature, and radiation counts during flight. The payload system was launched on NASA’s Terrier Improved-Orion Sounding Rocket at their flight facility in Wallops, Virginia, and was successfully recovered at the Atlantic Ocean. Marc made several presentations and publications in domestic and international conferences, including MDSGC, FTC, ASEE, SISE, ICTAA, INCOSE, and INFORMS. His maxim in life is, “Never confuse movement with progress. Because you can run in places and not get anywhere.”

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Margaret Ajuwon Morgan State University

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Margaret Ajuwon is a doctoral student of Industrial Engineering at Morgan State University, Baltimore MD. She has a Master's degree in Industrial Engineer from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville (SIUE). She also possesses a Bachelors's degree in Mathematics and has been using her analytical skills in the optimization of processes. She currently works as a graduate research assistant for the Morgan State University Rocketry Program.

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biography

Guangming Chen Morgan State University

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Dr. Chen is a professor and the graduate program coordinator in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Morgan State University. He received a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from Wayne State University in 1990, a M.S. in systems engineering in 1984 and a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1982 from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. He has worked for Morgan State University since 1990.

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Abstract

The rocketry team at a mid-size University is developing a single-stage liquid-propellant rocket (LPR) with a targeted apogee of 13,000 feet. Due to the complexity of the LPR, each component of the rocket must be studied to optimize parameters that play a role in achieving the design apogee. These parameters do so either directly or by affecting other parameters in the optimization space. A wide variety of research papers and peer-reviewed journals that deal with the rocket nose cone and the characteristics of its airframe are already publicly accessible. However, only a few in-depth studies specifically address the design of the rocket's tail fins. Thus, this paper focuses on how different factors, such as the planform shape of the fins – clipped delta and trapezoidal; fin materials – carbon fiber, aluminum, and fiberglass; and its geometric dimensions – root chord and sweep angle, will affect the estimated apogee of a rocket and what is an ideal combination of design parameters. The simulation results collected using the software OpenRocket Simulator shows the possible outcomes of the rocket’s apogee. Furthermore, a factorial design methodology was employed using the collected data and the Minitab software to perform statistical analysis to determine the significant factors and generate surface and contour plots. From the data in the study, the best rocket tail fin design for apogee was determined to be three clipped delta-shaped tail fins made of fiberglass.

Keywords: Liquid-Propellant Rocket (LPR), Apogee, OpenRocket Simulator, Minitab, Design of Experiments (DOE), Rocket Fin

Bunkley, J. A., & Caballes, M. J. L. O., & Ajuwon, M., & Chen, G. (2022, April), Design Analysis of Rocket Tail Fins Aimed at Higher Apogee by Computer Simulation Paper presented at 2022 Spring ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Conference, Newark, New Jersey. 10.18260/1-2--40047

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