Best Adhesive for Aluminum Foil

Hello all,

I need to attach some aluminum foil to some of the wood and paper sections of my rocket. What would be the best glue/epoxy to use? This area will get blasted with ejection gases so a fairly strong bond is needed.

Thank you,
Tinker

The best option is actually aluminum (or stainless steel) tape rather than aluminum foil. Something like these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O9R4K7O/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GQQ6FOG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Unfortunatly, I'm not sure what typical adhesives would bond aluminum foil strongly and permanently. I'd guess that epoxy would probably do the job.

I've used the foil before in a number of different ways. Check out this thread: https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...Ejection-A-Build-Thread&p=1492465#post1492465

Here is some tape that is spec'd up to 600F: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004Z4DS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20.

dixontj93060 said:

Here is some tape that is spec'd up to 600F: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004Z4DS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20.

Click to expand...

Agreed, this is the best choice for the application.

MCriscione said:

The best option is actually aluminum (or stainless steel) tape rather than aluminum foil. Something like these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O9R4K7O/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GQQ6FOG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Unfortunatly, I'm not sure what typical adhesives would bond aluminum foil strongly and permanently. I'd guess that epoxy would probably do the job.

I've used the foil before in a number of different ways. Check out this thread: https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...Ejection-A-Build-Thread&p=1492465#post1492465

Click to expand...

The build you referred me to is outstanding, and I may borrow some of your designs for the vented centering ring as it may have an application here. I am trying to line the wall of a baffle design of mine with aluminum foil to absorb some of the heat from the ejection charge. (I hope to have it pass through a wire scrubbie first) I am hoping the quick heat absorption of the aluminum will cut the temps of the gasses when it leaves the baffle. Unsure if the tape would have the same heat properties and would its self adhesive hold over repeated hi temp blasts. (One the baffle is sealed, thats it)

I am trying a rear ejection design with the whole tail section separating (I have a different solution for preventing drag separation) , but I only have a little space to deal with all that high temp pressure. I am hoping 4-5" in at BT-60 (double walled with a coupler) will hold. I may need to vent SOME of the charge out the butt though......

Tinker

I'm glad you've found my build helpful. The vented ring was a first time design I played around with to help cool the ejection gasses. There really wasn't any space in the pods for much wadding, plus I wanted the gasses as cool as possible going though the wings. It seemed to work well, and although I stuff plastic Estes chutes into those pods totally unprotected, I've never had anything melt. Man, that was a fun build, I have to do something else like that again soon.

Based on some other reading here, and the fact that it sounds like you're planning a permanently sealed baffle, I'd suggest skipping the scrubber unless you can find a way to design it to be removable. (maybe out the engine mount?) Eventually they get caked up with ejection charge residue and bits of clay (I'm assuming LPR Estes engines) and need to be shaken out / replaced. In addition, it's adding more weight to the tail of your rocket. Typically, a cardboard/wood baffle system with a light epoxy coating to prevent smoldering has been enough for me when I'm building general purpose baffles (i.e. forward eject, once through types). I don't know what you're planning specifically, but it seems you only have a small pressurized volume. That means that the ejection will happen really quickly. Other than a bit of foil tape to prevent burning through the wood/cardboard, I wouldn't worry too much about heat load, as it will be quite brief and then exposed to external air.

It sounds like a neat design. Pictures please!

Well TBH this rocket is a design testbed for a rocket I have been thinking about since I was a kid. I moved to Colorado and was driving out near Hartsel (which is just down the road) and thought I have to get back into rocketry and design my masterpiece! Who new they launched HPR in Hartsel...... So Apogee is just down the road (along with Estes) and I got a copy of Rocksim and built my big bad super duper rocket. After some long hours of mixing and matching it is basically done. (3 stage with clustered first, E&F Black powder motors)

Rocksim says it will fly 5600ft and 600fps! But this brought some issues, first of which being I need a level 1 cert for 210grams of black powder. Second of which is I want to see this rocket again so this means dual deployment from a BT-60 rocket, so this got me thinking about aft ejection for the drogue shoot but then there is the problem of drag separation......

So, I won't be ready to buy all the stuff I need for a level 1 cert before winter sets in up here at 9400ft, so I thought I would build a test rocket to work on the aft ejection issues. Aft ejection would seem silly in this rocket as front is so much easier but I would rather blow the side out of this rocket then my big one. So here I am. I need in this case to be able to eject the aft end without blowing up the rocket. (Assume it must overcome ~13 newtons of internal restraint against drag separation) This rocket will be 24mm Estes engines, but the big one will be 29mm. I am afraid if I don't deal with the ejection charge elegantly, that it will fail critically somewhere before it pushes the tail off the rocket (and drag on the released aft pulls the shoot out of its sealed container). So here we are at baffles and aluminum foil.......

Current design has the MM tube at 5.75 inches to allow for 2" of brillo at the top of the tube. 1" space from top of MM tube to bottom of baffle 2-3" of baffle and then entering a 1" space below the parachute container. (From top of MM tube to bottom of chute container is double walled) The rocket will separate at this space. I am not sure 4-5" in a BT-60 tube is enough room for those gases in that short amount of time before separation, so I was thinking of venting some out the bottom, but then this will be extra force I will have to overcome as it will work against separation.

Tinker