Carbon Fiber Composite High Power Rocket

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
This project was the combined effort of a friend and I at CWRU. The goal of this project was to create a rocket that was entirely made out of custom carbon fiber and aluminum parts. This project was funded by our university and had the primary purpose of giving us as much of an opportunity as possible to learn about design and manufacturing. This project also served to give us experience in designing different composite aerostructures and characterizing their strength through load testing.

This rocket was entirely designed and manufactured in-house with the exception of the electronics. The rocket consisted of a custom-manufactured carbon fiber airframe with an aluminum superstructure. The choice of strong and lightweight materials allowed our rocket to achieve supersonic flight while also being highly durable.

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬
• Capable of flight at Mach 1.3
• Airframe made from custom rolled carbon composite composite
• Redundant electronic dual deployment recovery system with GPS tracking
• Superstructure manufactured from CNC-milled aluminum components
• CNC-made aluminum nose cone made in sections and assembled
• Manually machined aluminum tail cone

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬
• Improve my ability to design parts and assemblies for manufacturing
• How to design and manufacture parts made from composite materials
• How to program and operate a CNC machinery
• How to use CFD to optimize airframe geometry for low drag
• Learn how to use FEA to reduce weight in airframe components
• Gain experience operating machines such as lathes, mills, drill presses, and waterjet cutters to better understand their limitations and uses