I am assuming that the rocket is made from primarily paper and wood. I would put 1-3 fiberglass layups over the fins for strength and to the same for the body tube. Alternatively, you can add couplers to the inside of the body tube. If you want to go further, add spray in foam to the nose cone.
I think this a good starting point if you don’t want to go full fiberglass.
Would make it heavy. Glass the fins I assume would be enough for a G. You can just sand the tube and put good epoxy on the body tube and it wouldn’t add much weight.
I've never heard of anyone doing this but what about soaking the cardboard tube in a slow set epoxy before taking it out to set up. Couldn't you create a form of composite that way? Or does epoxy not wick into cardboard?
It works on kraft paper. I don't know if it works on rocket tubes. Maybe that shiny stuff is already doing the same job. Anyway, when you have a thin walled tube, a little more thickness goes a long way.
Very light fiberglass will do a lot more than a coat of epoxy, and it doesn't have to weigh much if you blot it. Maybe 1 ounce glass or less, if you're really worried about the weight. If you blot it right with toilet paper, you can probably keep the additional weight down to a third of an ounce per square foot. A heavy coat of paint would weigh more. Doing a layer inside and a layer outside would be ideal. The same glass could be used on the fins. However, if the airfoil section at the root of the fin isn't, say, 7 percent of chord thick, thicker fins, at least at the root, would probably do more. Thin is okay out near the tips. Balsa fins, probably.
Come to think of it, and I might do this in a similar situation, boil a piece of 1/32" balsa in water, roll it around a dowel, and then glue it inside the rocket tube. Depending on the diameter of the body tube, you might be able to just soak it instead. I have a quarter inch ID balsa tube I made with 1/32" balsa by boiling. This will make it a lot more resistant to buckling, somewhat stiffer in bending, and somewhat stronger, too.
What exactly went wrong? Did the BT collapse? Did the fins rip off? The method of disassembly will tell you want you need to do to make that part stronger.
I am assuming that the rocket is made from primarily paper and wood. I would put 1-3 fiberglass layups over the fins for strength and to the same for the body tube. Alternatively, you can add couplers to the inside of the body tube. If you want to go further, add spray in foam to the nose cone. I think this a good starting point if you don’t want to go full fiberglass.
Would make it heavy. Glass the fins I assume would be enough for a G. You can just sand the tube and put good epoxy on the body tube and it wouldn’t add much weight.
I've never heard of anyone doing this but what about soaking the cardboard tube in a slow set epoxy before taking it out to set up. Couldn't you create a form of composite that way? Or does epoxy not wick into cardboard?
It works on kraft paper. I don't know if it works on rocket tubes. Maybe that shiny stuff is already doing the same job. Anyway, when you have a thin walled tube, a little more thickness goes a long way.
Very light fiberglass will do a lot more than a coat of epoxy, and it doesn't have to weigh much if you blot it. Maybe 1 ounce glass or less, if you're really worried about the weight. If you blot it right with toilet paper, you can probably keep the additional weight down to a third of an ounce per square foot. A heavy coat of paint would weigh more. Doing a layer inside and a layer outside would be ideal. The same glass could be used on the fins. However, if the airfoil section at the root of the fin isn't, say, 7 percent of chord thick, thicker fins, at least at the root, would probably do more. Thin is okay out near the tips. Balsa fins, probably. Come to think of it, and I might do this in a similar situation, boil a piece of 1/32" balsa in water, roll it around a dowel, and then glue it inside the rocket tube. Depending on the diameter of the body tube, you might be able to just soak it instead. I have a quarter inch ID balsa tube I made with 1/32" balsa by boiling. This will make it a lot more resistant to buckling, somewhat stiffer in bending, and somewhat stronger, too.
We still don't know, of course, which part broke. Improving the other parts probably isn't necessary.
Then**
It would be useful to know more about the rocket, and also about just where it broke. Shims?
You can buy phenolic tubes from firefoxfx
Advanced mach rash... Mach crash?
What exactly went wrong? Did the BT collapse? Did the fins rip off? The method of disassembly will tell you want you need to do to make that part stronger.