Structures And Daq System For The Lox/lch4 500 And 2000 Lbf. Rocket Engines

With the progression of space exploration and research, new alternative fuels and fuel combinations have been discovered. The ability to produce methane from Mars\u27 atmosphere and oxygen from Mars\u27 regolith has led to the two becoming a great alternative propellant combination for rocket propulsion systems. To further advance LOX/LCH4 propulsion systems, a 500 and 2000 lbf rocket engine were designed and manufactured and are to be launched from the MIRO cSETR Technology Research and Innovation Acceleration Park (tRIAc) in Fabens, Texas for data collection and analysis. The objective of this thesis is to give a thorough overview of the static structures to be used in the launch of the 500 lbf and 2000 lbf LOX/LCH4 rocket engines, their design processes, finite element analysis and the various other methods used to validate their structural integrity. These static structures thus far include two static tank stands to support one cryogenic LOX tank, one CH4 tank, and a vertical thrust test stand