Anyone here into high powered rocketry? I'm mainly interested in solid fuel propellants. Anyone have some good formulas? I've seen lots using ammonium perchlote and ammonium nitrate, I want to use ammonium nitrate because of the availability. For a fuel I planned on using aluminum powder, again for availability and cost, but what for the binder? Fiberglass resin, epoxy resin? I've heard asphalt used to be used, and drivway sealer is cheap and readily available, anyone try it? (Its not asphalt, the ingredients dont come to mind but I think I actually bought a bucket once for it but never got around to it)

Pyrotek sells plans and ingredients for ammonium nitrate powered rockets, including the binder. I'm hoping someone here on the Forum will buy the plans and share the info with us.

I once tried an ammonium nitrate/polyester resin solid rocket fuel, the results could only be described as "flame retardent"...

Didn't go off eh? WHat did you use for the fuel? Aluminum powder? Mg? Nothing? LOL

Ive seen those pyrotek things, just wondered if someone had done it solo. 5 mile range is pretty impressive. I don't want to take out a jet liner though................maybe those damn weird things I see in the sky every night.......

I've been a´litle into amateaur rocketry a few years back. I made alot of crazy stuff, I experimented with many different propellants. One of my best - and maybe most dangerous was my litle KMnO4-Zn rocket.It had an extremely fast burnrate. I have never seen a rocket of that size fly so high so fast!

there is a composite propellant with Ammonium Nitrate and Urethan plastic powder.
Does anyone know how its possible to purchase Urethan?

I'll give you the proportions as soon as I find them, but I made some quite good motors out of: AN, Al, K2Cr2O7, Charcoal and polyester resin.
IIRC it was 70% AN, 5% Al, 18% resin, 5% K2Cr2O7, and 2% charcoal. I used an unrestricted fuel grain, with a central hole running right the way through the axis.

I've had amazing success with simple Kno3/Sucrose, I've cast core burners, and pressed solid grains, I like the solid grains better because its so easy to screw up a casting.

Richard Nakka's website is devoted mostly to Kno3 based propellants.
http://members.aol.com/ricnakk/

That's also a good mixture, sorbitol is better than sugar if you can get it because it melts at a lower temp. (c. 100*C compared to c. 180*C) and stays liquid for longer.
Cast grains are more reliable, I've heard pressed mixture is more likely to explode...

Ammonium Perclorate, Alum. powder, Polysulfide rubber is what they use in the space shuttle. Polysulfide is also called Thiokol, is also called "3-M" seam compound, is also called "Glocester"Polysulfide seam compound, can be found in any marine store. It's a 2 part mix. Get the "pourable" grade. Use very little. It should look like brown sugar and should be pressed into the mold. It takes about 3 hours at 70 degrees F.

I will buy this book and (with permission of course http://theforum.virtualave.net/ubb/smilies/rolleyes.gif) get it on the forum. It also comes with a video, but I think it just shows people making them. It might be a while (1-2 months) before I can get it, but I will. And one idea I have is to make one of these rockets, with a tracking device (I think Pyrotek used to sell them), and have a place to stash your shit (drugs, guns possibly). Then when you get pulled over by the police or cought, just hit the button that pops the trunk and have a button next to it to launch the rocket (which is in the trunk). Sounds kinda crazy, but I think all they could charge you with would be tampering with evidence and/or launching rockets in town. But anyway, I will get the book and test it and all that good shit. http://theforum.virtualave.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

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"You will not be taught the knowledge you seek, you must teach yourself." - Megalomania

Space shuttle? Isn't that liquid hydrogen and LOX? Or maybe you aren't talking about the main engines.

The space shuttle also had the booster engine using solid fuel.The sustaining engine is liquid fueled...

[This message has been edited by cutefix (edited September 26, 2001).]

Well, now I have a good engine composition using AN, Al powder, and fiberglass resin. Does anyone know what kind of pressure this generates? On pyrotek, they show PVC rockets handling this, but won't the pressure/heat melt the PVC, or I am guessing that the rockets may be PVC, but they forgot to mention that the engines were housed in a strong steel casing...I'm working on a rocket to test out, not sure of what to use-something as light as possible, but can be re-used and is durable enough to handle the pressure and heat-I was going to machine the whole thing from a chunk of aluminum, leaving the walls perhaps 1/10 inch thick and a little thicker where the engine would be, but there may be a better way, such as a thinwall PVC rocket with the only the engine encased in a metal chamber-what do you think?

IIRC, these sort of motors operate at about 1000psi, which can be handled by a strong plastic pipe or paper tube.



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"Shit happens. Get a fucking helmet"

Thanks anthony, that means thinwall PVC should work. I think I will encase the engine in a fiberglass casing for added strength, and to resist the heat generated.

could you put the engine inside a tube inside the main rocket body so even if it fucks up the inner tube you can just pull it out and use the main body again?