Design of a Liquid Bi-Propellent Propulsion System and Engine Test Stand

Portland State Aerospace Society (PSAS) required a new propulsion system for the current rocket, Launch Vehicle 4 (LV4). LV4 is PSAS’ entry into the Base 11 Space Challenge, a competition for collegiate, student-led teams to design, build, and launch a liquid propellant rocket to the von Karman line (100 km). In order to reach this goal, the LV4 rocket needed approximately 8 kN of thrust and a redesign of various subsystems. This project focused on the propulsion subsystem which included the required plumbing, valves, rocket engine, and test stand. LV4 is PSAS' first step into liquid-propellant rocketry utilizing a bi-propellant system with isopropanol (IPA) as the fuel and liquid oxygen (LOX) as the oxidizer. A large part of our UTEAP was designing the LOX system as it is a cryogenic fluid as well as building the liquid fuel engine test stand. For our final deliverables, we produced a functioning test stand, a piping and instrumentation diagram for a future propulsion system with selected valves and plumbing, and a completed design of a liquid fuel rocket engine.