Aerospike Base Design for Low Drag Projectiles
• Using an aerospike, an inverted rocket nozzle design, on the base of the projectile this research aimed to create a
new method for designing supersonic projectiles, focusing on reduced drag and enhanced operational efficiency.
• The research methodology was validated by studying the Sierra BTHP 168 Grain Bullet, creating a comprehensive design space in SolidWorks’ FlowSim. One design demonstrated a significant 7.89% drag reduction at Mach
2.4 compared to the Sierra bullet.
• Produced 50 solid copper Aerospike bullets using a CNC lathe, manually loaded and fired using an H&R singleshot 0.308 hand rifle at the range. Studied the statistical spread of speeds from Mach 1.8 to 2.4.
• The experimental results deviated from both theory and CFD simulations. Future work will prioritize a more
effective projectile creation method to address errors encountered during their production.
• Published and presented this research at the International Ballistics Society 2023 Conference in Bruge, Belgium.
new method for designing supersonic projectiles, focusing on reduced drag and enhanced operational efficiency.
• The research methodology was validated by studying the Sierra BTHP 168 Grain Bullet, creating a comprehensive design space in SolidWorks’ FlowSim. One design demonstrated a significant 7.89% drag reduction at Mach
2.4 compared to the Sierra bullet.
• Produced 50 solid copper Aerospike bullets using a CNC lathe, manually loaded and fired using an H&R singleshot 0.308 hand rifle at the range. Studied the statistical spread of speeds from Mach 1.8 to 2.4.
• The experimental results deviated from both theory and CFD simulations. Future work will prioritize a more
effective projectile creation method to address errors encountered during their production.
• Published and presented this research at the International Ballistics Society 2023 Conference in Bruge, Belgium.
Bachelor of Science Mechanical Engineering
at
University of West Florida
Comments