SRAD Propellant Development

Through collaboration of the a multidisciplinary team the creation of a solid rocket motor formula was designed, mixed, characterized and optimized for the flight at the 2025 IREC competition.

• Custom APCP Formulations: Engineered composite solid propellant using ammonium perchlorate (AP), aluminum powder, and iron oxide catalyst. Tuned binder-to-oxidizer ratios (HTPB-based) to achieve desired regression rates and mechanical integrity.
  
  

• Bates-Geometry Grain Design: Designed and machined five-grain “Bates” internal port geometries in our custom motor casing, optimizing surface area progression for near-constant thrust profiles. Incorporated a convergent–divergent nozzle to maximize expansion efficiency at sea-level.
  
  

• N-3350 Static-Fire Validation: Last season’s N-3350 motor delivered ~11 000 N·s of impulse over a 3.15 s burn. Conducted over 20 static tests on our in-house stand, verifying thrust curves against hand-calculated predictions and refining grain packing techniques for consistent performance.
  
  

• Structural & Safety Calculations: Performed detailed hoop‐stress and longitudinal-stress analyses on the motor casing (safety factor ≥ 2, per NFPA 1125). Validated burst pressure and temperature limits through FEA cross-checks.
  
  

• Hands-On Grain Mixing: Led underclassmen in manual mixing of propellant constituents within a ventilated, grounded enclosure. Enforced strict PPE protocols and batch-lot tracking to ensure reproducibility and safety.
  
  

• Next-Generation N-4450 Development: Currently scaling up our formulation for the N-4450 motor—forecasting ~14 000 N·s impulse. Running iterative small-batch burns to characterize burn-rate coefficients (a, n) and adjust nozzle throat area before full-scale manufacturing.
  
  

By driving each phase, ranging from chemistry and grain design through test‐stand validation and safety checks. I have solidified our club’s capability to develop, test, and iterate high-performance solid rocket motors in-house. Below you'll find pictures and videos of both mixes and static fires.