Structures uses many different software programs, including:
- SolidWorks, for 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) modeling of the rocket
- Solidworks Enterprise Product Data Management (EPDM), for managing CAD files
- OpenRocket, for initial simulation of the rocket's flight. While the software makes solid assumptions past transonic, a CFD program would better be able to simulate the drag on the rocket.
We're hoping to learn these software programs as well:
- Finite Element Analysis (FEA), to do stress analysis of the rocket airframe
- Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), to analyze the effect of different shapes on the drag, as well as get accurate estimates of the rocket's drag.