Thrust Stand

Jan. 2020 - May 2023

The idea for this project was fairly simple, to build a small-scale device that can measure the thrust of rocket engines. I had set two major requirements for this testing device: a minimum thrust measurement of 100 Newtons and the ability to operate from a distance of at least 30 feet. Thus, the controls are wireless, data is recorded to a microSD card for later analysis, and a 20 Kg load cell is on the stand. 

The wireless controller has a range of up to 800 meters if required. Although I had only ever needed one line of communication between the controller and the test stand, two extra communication lines were included for future-proofing. An Arduino Nano is used to interpret the load cell data and write it to a microSD card. For wireless communication, an NRF24L01 module was chosen for its compatibility with Arduino and low price. Besides the use of libraries, all software to interpret load call data, write to the microSD card, and communicate wirelessly, was written by me in the Arduino IDE. The controller has a 3D-printed housing with all buttons and switches labeled. I also designed a printed circuit board (PCB) for the controller in order to fit all electrical components. 

In order to verify the test stand, I tested two types of commercially available solid rocket motors with known thrust curve data. The two motors I chose were Estes B6-0 and B6-6. Below you can see the results of the testing.

After the data was collected, it was then processed and compared to the data provided by manufacturer. These comparisons are shown below:

Extra pictures of the equipment and hardware:

PCB design done in Fusion 360: