Project
Ignis engine.

Construction

• The hygroscopic nature of Kno3 and the way molten sugar would start to harden so quickly lead me to try other propellents that were relatively safe and easy to work with. Epoxy mixed with Kno3 in a 65/35 mixture provided a possible solution. The mixture was easy to pour into the engine casing, did not crack or have voids and when dry would encapsulate the Kno3 preventing it from absorbing moisture out of the air.

Pros

• Ease of construction and storage.
• Safe.

Cons

• Burn rate was too slow. Pressure in the engine could not build up to produce any noticeable thrust.

Pictures

• Burning a small sample of fuel.
• Burning another sample.
• igniters used to light fuel.
• Engine on test stand.
• Construction job box filled with water to test engines in.
• A 2 inch viewport installed to video static tests.
• Viewport from the inside of the box.
• Water in box after engine test.
• Box draining.
• Convergent nozzle section after firing.
• Divergent nozzle section after firing.
• Divergent nozzle section after firing.
• Nozzle cut in half after firing to inspect. Nozzle erosion was 0.14"

Video

• Epoxy static test.