Each year, the senior aerospace design class at UCSD attempts to improve the performance of an LR-101 Atlas Vernier liquid-fueled rocket engine. Students analyze, build, and test the rocket in the Mojave desert in conjunction with FAR. One area in need of redesign was the ignitor holder.
The purpose of the ignitor holder is to hold the flame from a rocket motor close enough to the injector plate so the engine can start. The design from previous years was simple and didn't allow for much flow of liquid propellants. Professor Steve Harrington, the instructor for this project, wanted a 3D printed ignitor holder that looked good enough to show off. With that constraint, the design was created in collaboration with one other teammate.
After the static fire, additional analysis was performed to ensure that the pins holding the ignitor holder to the rocket nozzle were strong enough to endure the pressure from the liquid propellants but weak enough to break off at engine start.
