Design and analysis of thrust vector control system

A thrust vector control system is used in air vehicles to manipulate the axial thrust and give it attitude control. This type of system is useful when the air control systems prove to be inefficient at higher altitudes. The inspiration for this work was to develop a Thrust Vector Control System prototype that occupies minimum space and can be analysed to calculate the degree of rotation. `Solidworks Software' was used to model the TVC and the parts were 3D printed using MakerBot 3D printer which was later assembled manually. Ansys Static Structural was used to perform the structural analysis on the TVC gimbal to make sure the design is capable of handling the load. `Motion Analysis' was performed to find the required movement in the servos and deflection that will be possible with the TVC. The TVC was designed to have two degrees of freedom and it provided a ±11 degree of travel on both axes. It was able to handle a thrust of 110N with a Factor of Safety 3. The maximum side thrust manipulated when tested for 110N load was 20.9N which is 19 % of the axial thrust.