UCI RP Quick Disconnect

For my first project within the team, I designed an original quick disconnect system for cryogenic fuel umbilical’s that allowed easy filling of a rocket and could be remotely decoupled. The decoupling mechanism had to be non-damaging to the rocket and easy to construct. The optimal solution for our purposes was a spring-loaded mechanism, which was fixed to the quick disconnect fitting and armed before filling, then once ready to be decoupled, could be released via a pull tab to eject the fitting.

 

SolidWorks and ANSYS Mechanical simulations were performed to validate the design, but sadly it was never built due to unforseen global circumstances.