So I'm not sure if I can afford or put together a proper thrust measurement rig and had a interesting thought...
Could you estimate thrust of a static engine burn using one or more decibel meters at a fixed distance?
For example, I place a $20 handheld meter half a meter away from the engine and record the setup. Then playback footage and note decibels with respect to time (s).
I don't think the relationship is perfect but maybe there are in fact conversions out there for vibrational energy to thrust? Otherwise the number could still be used as a relative benchmark over multiple engines. I think I would trust this more than whatever gross spring contraption I could build. Obviously, you would want to minimize erratic background noise as well.
What are your thoughts? Has this been done?
Edited by CoalesceRockets, 12 November 2017 - 10:06 PM.