In order to construct our spike, T-bar, cowl and housing, we need to determine the right material for each part.

The materials used to manufacture these parts are the most critical part of the manufacturing and design processes.

For this reason, the aerospike nozzle components must be made of a material that can withstand extremely high temperatures (1300- 1900°C), as it will be exposed to the hot exhaust gases from the rocket engine.

The material shall have the following properties:
- Sustain ~1200°C for the duration of the burn, which is ~15 seconds. - Sustain a total of 4000 N of force throughout its area
- Be within budget for specific part.

Formulas

Determine the heat (generated, and handled):

𝑄 = 𝑚 ⋅ Δ𝑇
Where 𝑚 is the mass 𝑐 the specific heat capacity and Δ𝑇 is the

change in temperature during the fire.

The specific heat capacity is how much heat is required to raise the temperature of a body by 1°C.

This formula can also be used to determine the heat that each material can sustain before melting.
In order to determine the total mass being released during the burn time: 𝑚 = 𝑚̇ ⋅ 𝑡𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛

𝑄𝑚 is the heat released by the motor
𝑄𝜇 is the heat that the material can handle during the burn before melting.