Liquid Rocket Engine

Texas A&M University Rocket Engine Design

Overview

While working as Graduate Advisor and an Avionics Software Engineer at Texas A&M University Rocket Engine Design (TAMU RED), Devin participated in the design, manufacturing, and firing of the first ever liquid bipropellant rocket engine at Texas A&M University. This rocket engine, named "Elysium", utilized Ethanol and liquid Nitrous-Oxide as its propellants, and had been developed from start-to-finish over the course of about 6 months.

The team successfully fired the rocket engine for the first time in College Station, Texas on December 3rd, 2024, marking a major moment in both the student organization's and the university's history.

The team is currently working on Elysium 2, which will feature engine throttling and thrust-vector-control, opening a path to eventually use a liquid rocket engine on a vehicle.

Blast_Shield_Fire(1).mp4

Technical Work

Devin laid the groundwork for the design of the control system configuration and the graphic user interface that would handle the display of all sensor data and valve control. Additionally, Devin wrote microcontroller scripts and conducted component level-testing for verification and validation of the avionics system. As the team's graduate advisor, he gave insight into other technical decisions along the design process of the overall rocket engine, as well as the avionics subsystem.

Devin is currently spearheaded the implementation of a Thrust-Vector-Control (TCV) system into the next iteration of Elysium, allowing the engine to gimbal 5-7 degrees about its center point. Additionally, Devin is worked on the controller design for the engine throttling system, laying out the testing procedure and analysis needed to continue the project. These upgrades to the rocket engine will allow it to change it's thrust and direction during a hot-fire.