BULKHEAD PRESSURE FITTINGS:Push connect fitting, non-return valve and Quick Disconnect fitted to the oxidizer bulkhead. We had to make and extension for the NPT tap as it is tapped from the inside of the one piece bulkhead. Official max pressure of the push connect fitting is approx 40bar but the fitting held when tested to
Tank bulkheads:After machining the original bulkheads we saw the improvement of the one piece bulkhead as done on the excellent Sinnoh Sphinx+ build. We quickly realized the dual o-ring design was more in line with our previous rocket motor builds and were happy to adopt the upgrade in the NITROCAT as we didn’t machine the
Nozzle & Thrust chamber:We simplified the outside of the nozzle contour for ease of manufacturing on a manual lathe. The 40mm copper insert was pressed fitted into the nozzle therefore removing the need for a garter spring. The 25m throat, as well as the convergent and divergent sections, were machined afterwards.The thrust chamber was made
Coming from experimental APCP motors, LD and myself were ready for a new rocketry project and had been considering designing and building a liquid bipropellant ETHALOX engine for some time. However, with no prior experience in liquid propellants, this represented a significant step up from the relatively easy solid rocket motors we had been making.