Rocket Injector Joint Analysis

June 2025 – Present Propulsion Engineer West Lafayette, IN
Organization: Purdue Space Program Liquids
Meshed finite element model of the Phoenix engine injector assembly

The meshed Phoenix engine used for the Ansys runs

Scope

Structural analysis of the injector joint on a liquid rocket engine, covering the bolted joint, the injector plate, and material selection.

Bolted joint analysis

  • Sized bolts and calculated preload for the injector joint
  • Verified clamping margin against joint separation under peak startup loads, which was the governing case
  • Ran 12 Ansys Mechanical FEA simulations across the load cases

Injector plate deflection

Developed 3 Python scripts using NumPy and Matplotlib to predict injector plate deflection, working from Roark’s Formulas for Stress and Strain. This gave a fast analytical check to run against the FEA results rather than trusting a single method.

Material trade study

Evaluated 5 candidate materials against the thermal and structural requirements, selecting 304 stainless steel for the injector.

Design review

Defended the design methodology and simulation results at a Preliminary Design Review, justifying the analysis assumptions to senior team reviewers.

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