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Entry #7: Fiberglass-reinforced pressure vessel fails

A project log for Raspberry Pi Zero rocket camera

A budget action camera made with a Raspberry Pi and a Rockit flight computer to shoot 1080p video from a water rocket.

danielDaniel 03/04/2024 at 12:410 Comments

This 1.7L pressure vessel was supposed to be part of the Hyperion II rocket. It was reinforced with fiberglass, and it failed at a low pressure of 6 bar. 

The probable cause of failure was that the epoxy resin did not cure well. A way to improve the reinforcement is by mixing the resin and the hardener better. Also, the epoxy is well beyond the shelf life and this could have also been a contributing factor to the failure.

Considering that I have very little spare time perhaps it is time to revisit the Robison coupling method of building water rockets.

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