Page History

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1. Applied ablative coating to mold (not recommended, this should be done afterwards next time)

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1. Started layup --> first plies weren't wet enough, so make sure you're not skimping on epoxy

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1. apply Applied starting from the tip, lining up one end flush with the mold (use same side for each half --> align it well the first time because it's difficult to cut)
2. Trimmed edges

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1. Smoothed Smooth SLOWLY and don't put down more fiber until bubbles are gone
2. Attach Attached halves, make sure fibers not caugt caught in sides
3. Shine Shined light on one end
4. Use Used rod tool to smooth fibers from each end

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1. Apply Applied two extra strips along seams (two on each seam) and smooth with tool and by hand for good measure. Cut end of strip so it's not on linear coupler section because this will make it easier to sand later
2. peel ply difficult to apply, use blue tape
3. use cone shape for rest of vacc bagging materials (taped narrow end to rod and pushed it in, worked pretty well)

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1. Waited until vacuum pump dropped to around -27 inHg. It took a while to find bubbles for vacc bagfor it to drop because we had to seal some gaps in the vacuum bag. (In the picture below, the vacuum wasn't quite strong enough)

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Lessons Learned:

• Spear tool (two pieces of disposable squeegee attached using 5-minute epoxy to a long rod) works well for smoothing fibers on the inside of the nose cone
• Make sure fiberglass plies are wet enough or you risk delamination
• Do not use Fibrelease, just use wax
• Don't put the ablative layer on the outside --> apply if after the layup
• When vacuum bagging, use cones instead of two separate halves because this will be difficult to apply
• Make sure the outside of the mold is epoxied and waxed so that fiberglass doesn't overhang and stick to either end (makes mold release more difficult)
• Make smaller, and more pry slits so that mold release is easier
• Take the time to vacuum tape WELL so that you aren't looking for leaks later
• Consider using Vaseline for mold release after all (messy but it might help avoid delam)

Thermal Data Collection

We will attach several thermocouples and PRTDs to the inside of the nose cone in order to obtain valuable data about the heating profile of the nose cone during flight.

There are several considerations:

• How to attach the thermocouples. Some options below:
  • Cotronics 4700 epoxy
  • Aluminum tape
  • Proline

When attaching the thermocouples, it is important that whatever tape or adhesive used has a high enough thermal conductivity such that the thermocouple can get an accurate reading with minimal delay. Based on preliminary testing (i.e. pointing a heat gun at a sample with a thermocouple), aluminum tape looks promising, but more tests should be conducted. It is also important that the adhesive can withstand high temperatures, so the thermocouple will remain attached during flight.

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• delamination)