Design
Designed and developed a Burst Disk Canister for Cyclone Rocketry’s piston ejection system to improve the reliability of black powder ignition at high altitudes. The canister was modeled in SOLIDWORKS CAD. ANSI tolerancing standards were applied to ensure proper fit and sealing. A polyvinyl sheet was cut down and used as aburst disk as it is ductile and is the edges are compressed it acts as a sealing surface. The canisters were designed to withstand 6000 psi. I calculated the pressures in the canister during combustion and in the piston cylinder during actuation to prevent vacuum formation.
Analysis
FEA was performed using Ansys Mechanical and validated with thick-walled pressure vessel calculations. Hydrostatic testing verified proper sealing and predictable burst disk activation at the desired pressure. A 3/16th polyvinyl sheet was used as the burst disk. Through repeated testing it was determined that the polyvinyl would rupture ar 1200psi consistently.
Manufacturing
I manufactured the components using CNC mills and lathes.
Testing
The canister were hydrostatically tested to 3000 psi and were ground tested 12 times to ensure repeatable burst disk rupturing. The canisters were tested with the piston to ensure they could provide enough pressure to the piston to successfully seperate the rocket.
Accomplishments
Replaced gasket-based sealing with a more reliable radial O-ring design
Optimized multiple design iterations for size reduction without sacrificing structural integrity
Verified FEA results with analytical calculations
Conducted hydrostatic testing to ensure controlled and predictable burst disk activation