Its not like it's rocket science or something... ohh wait..
As part of a team, I led the optimization of a model rocket design that was initially defined by a hypothetical “substructures team.” Our task was to evaluate the baseline design, predict its flight characteristics, and determine whether it met the minimum launch requirements. To tackle this, I developed and ran a MATLAB-based trajectory analysis (time-stepping simulation of thrust, drag, and mass), performed sensitivity and trade-off studies, and proposed material and geometry modifications. Our recommendations boosted the predicted apogee by 27%, ensuring the design met performance goals.
This project was one of my first more “industry-style” engineering design projects, blending analysis, optimization, and teamwork in a way that felt directly applicable to the challenges faced in real aerospace design. The full report for the project is available upon request.
Type: Aerospace Analysis and Optimization
Goal: Collaborate with a team to determine if the design submitted by the "substrucrures team" fufilled the mission requirements, and find possible design optimizations
Problems: Unfimillar with calculating rocketry simulations, problem was poorly defined and there there were a lot of "engineering assumptions" that needed to occur
Solutions: Relied on engineering fundementals, previous experience, and expirenced mentors to construct model to predict model rocket flight characteristics
Time: October 2024
Learned Skills:
How would you model a rocket using MATLAB instead of conventional software like OpenRocket? How can we constrain the problem to make it more manageable?
Use a very simple time step approach, constrain the problem by making assumptions, such as define an approximate drag coefficient of 0.7
Make a time-step model of the flight in MATLAB, evaluate if the design reaches the launch parameters, using model test design suggestions to improve rocket geometry and material selection if needed
Do research to constrain the problem by using similar expirements as referencesI
Build model, test, evaluate, re-design, repeat