A major UK manufacturer of solid propellant rocket motors uses a Prosig data acquisition system and custom software to capture vibration and pressure data, right first time, during every firing.
Project at a glance
- Customer: Major UK manufacturer of solid propellant rocket motors
- Location: UK
- Applications: Aerospace; Advanced engineering
- Products used: P8048 (now DATS-hyper12); DATS.toolbox software
Background
A major UK manufacturer of solid propellant rocket motors partnered with Prosig to measure critical parameters while developing and testing new products. It relies on Prosig hardware and software to capture transducer signals during the firing of rocket motors and igniters.
The challenge
Ignition packs can only be used once, so every test has to capture the right data the first time. The customer needed a system that would measure vibration and pressure during firing, control the ignition sequence automatically, and make sure no step in the test procedure could be missed.
The solution
Prosig supplied two rack-mounted P8048 data acquisition systems, the predecessor to today's DATS-hyper12, with additional digital I/O control lines to automate the ignition sequence. The digital control lines from the firing control sequence control the P8048 directly.
Prosig's technical team also worked closely with the customer to develop a custom application that leads the user through a pre-defined, step-by-step test sequence:
- Define the rocket motor to be tested, the test type and the measurements required
- Calibrate the test transducers and store the results in a transducer database
- Run a pre-firing check to confirm that every transducer is working and calibrated to the required accuracy
- Perform the firing sequence and capture the data
The results
- Reliable, right-first-time data capture from single-use ignition packs
- Automated control of the ignition sequence from the firing control lines
- Built-in transducer calibration and automatic data structuring
- A guided test process that reduces the risk of operator error
System at a glance
- 2 x P8048 24-bit data acquisition chassis
- 12 x 8402 4-channel IEPE and direct input modules
- 4 x 8424 digital I/O modules
- DATS.toolbox analysis software with a custom test application
