Proofing is a process to ensure that the tubes on an engine can withstand their Maximum Expected Operating Pressure (MEOP), in which a tube is closed off with caps (flanges) and pumped with pressure. This gives 'proof' that the tube will work under pressure. 

This project encompassed the Miranda, Reaver, and Lightning rocket engines as well as tubes further up the rockets in stages 1 & 2 of Alpha, specifically for LOx, Fuel (RP-1), GN2, Helium, and other tubes, totaling over 55 assemblies for all of Firefly's upcoming flights! This will include FLTA007 and beyond, as well as the first Eclipse flight! I took full ownership in this design project as my main intern project for the Summer. 

My task was to design new hydrostatic proofing flanges where needed, and improve upon designs of existing flanges, as well as implement a system which better organizes the hydrostatic proofing process in Firefly's Tube Shop. First, I created an Excel tool that kept track of what assemblies were in the scope of the project, and later on, the information and part numbers I created. In designing the new hardware, I adhered to a 3x Factor of Safety to Yield, and 4x to Ultimate, all under a proof pressure of 1.5x MEOP. I used NX to design new, parametric proofing flanges that could be easily changed for tubes with an industry standard flange end. For Firefly custom tube connections, I performed hand calculations and bolt calculations to determine the optimal thickness and hardware (bolts, nuts, washers, material/alloy/coating of each) to use. All of my designs were later validated with ANSYS Mechanical FEA. I then created drawings with GD&T for manufacturing.

To make sure that the welds on the engine are sound and have not been compromised, Miranda must be sent off-site to be CT scanned. These procedures have been designed in partnership with Northrop Grumman for the upcoming A330 launch. 

The engine was required to be standing upside-down during transfer and NDT, so a new transfer pallet had been designed to accommodate specifications. I was tasked with the analysis of the design, and changing any features or dimensions to ensure mitigation of failure. Per NG's specifications, the pallet had to withstand at least 2.5 g's axial acceleration, 3 g's lateral, and 6 g's of vertical acceleration, which would be the worst case scenario during truck transfer. This would be akin to the truck hitting a massive pothole and veering all the way left at the same time. To account for this, I used NX and ANSYS to optimize the design for a 5x factor of safety to yield, carefully setting up boundary conditions and forces in the simulation. 

To safely test a newly designed valve, Phoenix, I collaborated closely with Firefly's Valve engineers (the Valvery) to design and test a safety enclosure for Phoenix. This enclosure was designed with polycarbonate (PC) because of its transparency and high impact strength. After thorough calculations, we designed a double-walled "sandwiched" enclosure that was tough enough to withstand a bullet (off-site, and this is Texas, after all). The failure scenario of a valve in this situation would be a fitting flying off under proof pressure, at ballistic energy. After learning the basics of ballistic simulation with ANSYS Explicit Dynamics, I optimized the design for a failure scenario of any valve operating at maximum proof pressure 9000 psi.