Vertical Rocket Test Stand

The thrust stand shown below has thrust load capabilities from 500 lbf to 2 000 lbf.

Vertical rocket test stand.

It fires vertically nozzle up and measures chamber pressure up to 2200 psi 15 megapascal and thrust up to m class motors. This is a prototype and so the tanks will most likely be separate from the engine i e. Construction was well underway by mid october 2019. Fluid systems include high pressure nitrogen liquid nitrous oxide and liquid isopropyl alcohol.

The prc recently upgraded the test stand cryogenic flow systems and instrumentation capabilities in the rocket test cell. The 12 x 12 inch foot print and lineal footage of strut available for mounting hardware makes it ideal for this application. My test stand is a vertical motor mounting with two pressure gauge one for chamber pressure and another for thrust. The solid rocket motor test firing will burn so hot the sand at the aft end of the motor will turn to glass.

The b 1 side is equipped for single engine tests. Converting the tripod stand was chosen as the fastest route to an additional raptor test facility in a vertical configuration. Lthe b 1 b 2 test stand is a dual position vertical firing facility built in the 1960s to test saturn v rocket stages that carried humans to the moon during the apollo program. The test stand contains a system of load cells that enable engineers to measure the thrust the motor produces and verify their predictions.

Operators can also configure the test stand for either horizontal firing or inclined firing up to 45 degrees for cryogenic liquid engines. The test stand will hold everything from the injector down so gravity shouldn t play a huge. Each test stand had several levels a test section and ground floor shop areas. The effect of the propellant weight on the thrust measurement system tms must be accounted for as the engine is firing.

Originally the stand was designed for vertical firing of small liquid rocket motors. A couple of guy wires to steady the stand and two stakes should secure it in place nicely. A typical sea level test stand may be designed to restrain the rocket engine in either a horizontal or vertical position. Hi guys i m currently examining the differences and pros cons of vertical and horizontal test stand setups for testing a relatively small liquid rocket engine.

The b 2 side is designed to test rocket stages. Liquid rocket engines are usually fired in a vertical position because the propellant pump intakes are designed to draw fuel from the bottoms of the fuel tanks. Vts supported cold flow and hot fire operations for lotus development engines.