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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2019

Progress in Additively Manufactured Copper-Alloy GRCop-84, GRCop-42, and Bimetallic Combustion Chambers for Liquid Rocket Engines

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has significantly evolved over the last decade for use in the aerospace industry, particularly for liquid rocket engines. AM offers a considerable departure from traditional manufacturing to rapidly fabricate components with complex internal features. High performance liquid rocket engine combustion chambers that operate in a high heat flux environment are fabricated using a copper-alloy liner with a series of integral coolant channels. Copper-alloys provide the necessary conductivity and material strength for adequate design margins offering high performance without the need for film coolant. Copper-alloys present unique challenges to properly melt the powder in laser-based AM processes due to their high reflectivity and conductivity. Starting in 2014, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and Glenn Research Center (GRC) have developed a process for AM of GRCop (Copper- Chrome-Niobium) alloys using Selective Laser Melting (SLM). GRCop, originally developed at GRC, is a high conductivity, high-strength, dispersion strengthened copper-alloy for use in high-temperature, high heat flux applications. NASA has completed significant material characterization and testing, along with hot-fire testing, to demonstrate that GRCop-42 and GRCop-84 alloys are suitable for use in combustion chambers. Additional development and testing has been completed on AM bimetallic chambers using GRCop-84 liners and superalloy jackets, fabricated using two Directed Energy Deposition (DED) processes: Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication (EBF³) and Blown Powder DED. NASA completed hot-fire testing on various AM chambers using GRCop-84, GRCop-42, and bimetallic chambers in Liquid Oxygen (LOX)/Hydrogen, LOX/Methane, and LOX/Kerosene propellants.

Gradl, Paul R.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Additive Manufacturing of Liquid Rocket Engine Combustion Devices: A Summary of Process Developments and Hot-Fire Testing Results

Additive Manufacturing (AM) of metals is a processing technology that has significantly matured over the last decade. For liquid propellant rocket engines, the advantages of AM for replacing conventional manufacturing of complicated and expensive metallic components and assemblies are very attractive. AM can significantly reduce hardware cost, shorten fabrication schedules, increase reliability by reducing the number of joints, and improve hardware performance by allowing fabrication of designs not feasible by conventional means. The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has been involved with various forms of metallic additive manufacturing for use in liquid rocket engine component design, development, and testing since 2010. The AM technique most often used at the NASA MSFC has been powder-bed fusion or selective laser melting (SLM), although other techniques including laser directed energy deposition (DED), arc-based deposition, and laser-wire cladding techniques have also been used to develop several components. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the various internal programs at the NASA MSFC using AM to develop combustion devices hardware. To date at the NASA MSFC, combustion devices component hardware ranging in size from 100 lbf to 35,000 lbf have been designed and manufactured using SLM and deposition-based AM processes, and many of these pieces have been hot-fire tested. Combustion devices component hardware have included thrust chamber injectors, injector components such as faceplates, regeneratively-cooled combustion chambers, regeneratively-cooled nozzles, gas generator and preburner hardware, and augmented spark igniters. Ongoing and future developments for combustion devices have also included design of components sized for boost-class engines. Several design and hot-fire test iterations have been completed on these subscale and larger scale components, and a summary of these results will be presented as well.

Gradl, Paul↗
NASA NTRS1973

Evacuated displacement compression molding

A process for molding long, thin-wall tubular bodies from thermosetting plastic molding compounds is described. The tubular bodies produced may have body lengths several times the diameters. The application of the process for manufacturing rocket engine cases and nozzles is discussed. The advantages of the system over other methods of circular tube manufacture are analyzed.

W C Heier↗
NASA NTRS2007

Development of GRCop-84 for Rocket Engine Applications

GRCop-84 (Cu-8 at.% Cr-4 at.% Nb) has been under development at the NASA Glenn Research Center for several years. The alloy possesses a unique combination of good thermal conductivity, high elevated temperature strength, long creep lives and long low cycle fatigue lives. The alloy is also more oxidation resistant than pure copper and most competitive alloys. The combination of properties has attracted attention from major rocket engine manufacturers who are interested in the alloy for the combustion chamber liner in their next generation of regeneratively cooled engines. It is also a strong candidate for various components in hypersonic vehicles, which also experience very high heat flux conditions. This presentation will discuss the alloy design strategies used to develop GRCop-84 and the various processing routes available for manufacturing components. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloy will be reviewed, as well as the results of actual hot fire testing of subscale rocket combustion chambers. The use of environmental and thermal barrier coatings to extend the performance to even higher levels will also be discussed.

Ellis, David L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Full-Scale GRCop-84 Combustion Chamber Liner Preform Fabricated Successfully

GRCop-84 (Cu-8 at.% Cr-4 at.% Nb) has been under development at the NASA Glenn Research Center for several years. The alloy possesses a unique combination of good thermal conductivity, high elevated temperature strength, long creep life, and long low-cycle- fatigue. The alloy is also more oxidation resistant than pure copper and most competitive alloys. The combination of properties has attracted attention from major rocket engine manufacturers who are interested in the alloy for the combustion chamber liner in their next generation of regeneratively cooled engines. Before GRCop-84 can be used in a main combustion chamber application, it must be demonstrated that the alloy can be made successfully to the large sizes and proper shape needed and that it retain useful properties. Recent efforts have successfully demonstrated the ability to fabricate a liner preform via metal spinning that retains the alloy s strength even in the welded sections.

Ellis, David L.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Innovative Techniques Simplify Vibration Analysis

In the early years of development, Marshall Space Flight Center engineers encountered challenges related to components in the space shuttle main engine. To assess the problems, they evaluated the effects of vibration and oscillation. To enhance the method of vibration signal analysis, Marshall awarded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to AI Signal Research, Inc. (ASRI), in Huntsville, Alabama. ASRI developed a software package called PC-SIGNAL that NASA now employs on a daily basis, and in 2009, the PKP-Module won Marshall s Software of the Year award. The technology is also used in many industries: aircraft and helicopter, rocket engine manufacturing, transportation, and nuclear power."

Source record↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Process Development and Hot-fire Testing of Additively Manufactured NASA HR-1 for Liquid Rocket Engine Applications

Additive manufacturing (AM) has provided new design and manufacturing opportunities to reduce cost and schedules, consolidate parts, and optimize performance. One technique being evaluated is Laser Powder Directed Energy Deposition (LP-DED), which provides a significant increase in scale compared to Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF). NASA along with industry partners have been developing the LP-DED process to demonstrate internal channel geometry and development components for use in liquid rocket engine channel cooled nozzles. Optimized materials in the extreme high pressure and hydrogen environment for liquid rocket engines remains a key challenge. NASA has advanced an enabling material called NASA HR-1 (Hydrogen Resistant -1) as a solution using AM techniques. NASA HR-1 is a high-strength Fe-Ni superalloy designed to resist high pressure, hydrogen environment embrittlement, oxidation, and corrosion. NASA HR-1 meets materials requirements for liquid rocket engine components, including good hydrogen resistance, high conductivity, good low cycle fatigue performance, and high elongation and strength for components in high heat flux environments. Material properties and process characterization have been completed on the high density thin-wall material in addition to advancements of the supply chain. NASA has also completed fabrication of several subscale and full-scale channel wall nozzles in LP-DED NASA HR-1 and completed hot-fire testing. This includes refinement of the process to produce thin-walls and various channel geometries to meet the requirements for channel wall nozzle applications. This paper will provide an overview of the LP-DED process development, material characterization and properties, component manufacturing, and hot-fire testing. Hot-fire testing was completed for a lander-class 7K-lbf thrust chamber using Liquid Oxygen (LOX)/Methane. The design overview and results from hot-fire testing will be presented in addition to hardware development for future testing on 2K-lbf and 35k-lbf thrust chambers and large-scale manufacturing technology demonstrators.

Additive Manufacturing↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Process Development and Hot-fire Testing of Additively Manufactured NASA HR-1 for Liquid Rocket Engine Applications

Additive manufacturing (AM) has provided new design and manufacturing opportunities to reduce cost and schedules, consolidate parts, and optimize performance. One technique being evaluated is Laser Powder Directed Energy Deposition (LP-DED), which provides a significant increase in scale compared to Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF). NASA along with industry partners have been developing the LP-DED process to demonstrate internal channel geometry and development components for use in liquid rocket engine channel cooled nozzles. Optimized materials in the extreme high pressure and hydrogen environment for liquid rocket engines remains a key challenge. NASA has advanced an enabling material called NASA HR-1 (Hydrogen Resistant -1) as a solution using AM techniques. NASA HR-1 is a high-strength Fe-Ni superalloy designed to resist high pressure, hydrogen environment embrittlement, oxidation, and corrosion. NASA HR-1 meets materials requirements for liquid rocket engine components, including good hydrogen resistance, high conductivity, good low cycle fatigue performance, and high elongation and strength for components in high heat flux environments. Material properties and process characterization have been completed on the high density thin-wall material in addition to advancements of the supply chain. NASA has also completed fabrication of several subscale and full-scale channel wall nozzles in LP-DED NASA HR-1 and completed hot-fire testing. This includes refinement of the process to produce thin-walls and various channel geometries to meet the requirements for channel wall nozzle applications. This paper will provide an overview of the LP-DED process development, material characterization and properties, component manufacturing, and hot-fire testing. Hot-fire testing was completed for a lander-class 7K-lbf thrust chamber using Liquid Oxygen (LOX)/Methane. The design overview and results from hot-fire testing will be presented in addition to hardware development for future testing on 2K-lbf and 35k-lbf thrust chambers and large-scale manufacturing technology demonstrators.

DED↗
NASA NTRS2018

Additive Manufacturing of Liquid Rocket Engine Combustion Devices: A Summary of Process Developments and Hot-Fire Testing Results

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is an emerging technology with a focus on complex metallic component fabrication: Enables complex shapes and internal features that were not possibly with traditional manufacturing techniques, and significant schedule and overall lifecycle cost reductions. To date at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), combustion devices component hardware ranging in size from 100 - 35,000 lbf has been designed and manufactured using AM and many of these pieces have been hot-fire tested.

Gradl, Paul↗
NASA NTRS2020

Technology Advancements for Channel Wall Nozzle Manufacturing In Liquid Rocket Engines

A regeneratively-cooled or dump-cooled nozzle is a critical component for expansion of hot gases to enable high temperature and performance in liquid rocket engines systems. Regeneratively-cooled channel wall nozzles are a design solution used across the propulsion industry as a simplified method to fabricate the nozzle structure with internal coolant passages. The scale and complexity of the channel wall nozzle (CWN) design can be challenging to fabricate which results in extended lead times and higher costs. Some of these challenges include: 1) Unique and high temperature materials, 2) Tight tolerances on large parts during manufacturing and assembly to contain high pressure propellants, 3) Thin-walled features to maintain adequate wall temperatures, and 4) Unique manufacturing process operations and complex tooling. The United States (U.S.) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and U.S. specialty manufacturing vendors are maturing modern fabrication techniques to reduce complexity and decrease costs associated with channel wall nozzle manufacturing technology. Additive Manufacturing (AM) is one of the key technology advancements under evaluation for channel wall nozzles. Much of additive manufacturing for propulsion components has focused on laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), but the scale is not yet feasible for application to large scale nozzles. NASA is evolving directed energy deposition (DED) techniques for nozzles including arc-based deposition, blown powder deposition, and Laser Wire Direct Closeout (LWDC). There are different approaches being considered for fabrication of the nozzle, and each of these DED processes offer unique process steps for rapid fabrication. The arc-based and blown powder deposition techniques are used for the forming of the CWN liner. A variety of materials are being demonstrated including Inconel 625, Haynes 230, JBK-75, and NASA HR-1. The blown powder DED process is also being demonstrated for forming an integral channel nozzle in a single operation in similar materials. The LWDC process is a method for closing out the channels within the liner and forming the structural jacket using a localized laser wire deposition technique. Identical materials mentioned above have been used for this process in addition to bimetallic closeout (C-18150–SS347, and C-18150–Inconel 625). NASA has completed process development, material characterization, and hot-fire testing on a variety of these channel wall nozzle fabrication technique. This publication presents an overview of the various channel wall nozzle manufacturing processes and materials under evaluation including results from the hot-fire testing. Future development and technology focus areas is also discussed relative to channel wall nozzle manufacturing.

Additive manufacturing↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Review Towards the Design Optimization of High Performance Additively Manufactured Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine Injectors

Rotating Detonation Rocket Engines (RDRE) have been marketed primarily for their higher specific impulse potential over constant pressure (CP) liquid rocket engines. However, several other performance advantages exist with RDREs over CP engines such as heat transfer advantages for gas expander cycle, increased completeness of combustion at low chamber L*, compact engine design, reduced coolant channel pressure drop potential, and improved injector C* performance. NASA has paved the way for liquid engine system performance enhancement since the Apollo program and continues to do so with metal additive manufacturing (AM), super-alloy materials, and advanced propulsion concepts. A team of propulsion development engineers at NASA are in the process of developing high-performance 7K lbf class RDRE hardware for their potential use in lander, upper stage, and even launch vehicle applications. Clear advantages have been demonstrated with AM including program cost and schedule reductions of up to 50%. It is well known that injector performance is integrally linked to the global performance of a combustion device. This is especially the case for RDREs since detonation stability is heavily dependent on the mixedness of propellants. A major program goal is to rapidly produce ultra-high-performance AM injectors. This paper reviews the available literature on liquid rocket injector design optimization as well as the experimental work conducted to date on injectors tested in RDREs. Major lessons learned are document and suggestions given towards the design of high-performance liquid RDRE injectors. In addition, the integration of metal AM into the design of liquid RDRE injector schemes is discussed. Finally, several candidate AM RDRE injector elements were produced to obtain their diodicity and cold flow characteristics.

rotating detonation engine↗
NASA NTRS2017

Development and Hot-fire Testing of Additively Manufactured Copper Combustion Chambers for Liquid Rocket Engine Applications

NASA and industry partners are working towards fabrication process development to reduce costs and schedules associated with manufacturing liquid rocket engine components with the goal of reducing overall mission costs. One such technique being evaluated is powder-bed fusion or selective laser melting (SLM), commonly referred to as additive manufacturing (AM). The NASA Low Cost Upper Stage Propulsion (LCUSP) program was designed to develop processes and material characterization for GRCop-84 (a NASA Glenn Research Center-developed copper, chrome, niobium alloy) commensurate with powder-bed AM, evaluate bimetallic deposition, and complete testing of a full scale combustion chamber. As part of this development, the process has been transferred to industry partners to enable a long-term supply chain of monolithic copper combustion chambers. To advance the processes further and allow for optimization with multiple materials, NASA is also investigating the feasibility of bimetallic AM chambers. In addition to the LCUSP program, NASA has completed a series of development programs and hot-fire tests to demonstrate SLM GRCop-84 and other AM techniques. NASA's efforts include a 4K lbf thrust liquid oxygen/methane (LOX/CH4) combustion chamber and subscale thrust chambers for 1.2K lbf LOX/hydrogen (H2) applications that have been designed and fabricated with SLM GRCop-84. The same technologies for these lower thrust applications are being applied to 25-35K lbf main combustion chamber (MCC) designs. This paper describes the design, development, manufacturing and testing of these numerous combustion chambers, and the associated lessons learned throughout their design and development processes.

Gradl, Paul R.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Development and Hotfire Testing of Additively Manufactured Copper Combustion Chambers for Liquid Rocket Engine Applications

NASA and industry partners are working towards fabrication process development to reduce costs and schedules associated with manufacturing liquid rocket engine components with the goal of reducing overall mission costs. One such technique being evaluated is powder-bed fusion or selective laser melting (SLM), commonly referred to as additive manufacturing (AM). The NASA Low Cost Upper Stage Propulsion (LCUSP) program was designed to develop processes and material characterization for GRCop-84 (a NASA Glenn Research Center-developed copper, chrome, niobium alloy) commensurate with powder bed AM, evaluate bimetallic deposition, and complete testing of a full scale combustion chamber. As part of this development, the process has been transferred to industry partners to enable a long-term supply chain of monolithic copper combustion chambers. To advance the processes further and allow for optimization with multiple materials, NASA is also investigating the feasibility of bimetallic AM chambers. In addition to the LCUSP program, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has completed a series of development programs and hot-fire tests to demonstrate SLM GRCop-84 and other AM techniques. MSFC’s efforts include a 4,000 pounds-force thrust liquid oxygen/methane (LOX/CH4) combustion chamber. Small thrust chambers for 1,200 pounds-force LOX/hydrogen (H2) applications have also been designed and fabricated with SLM GRCop-84. Similar chambers have also completed development with an Inconel 625 jacket bonded to the GRCop-84 material, evaluating direct metal deposition (DMD) laser- and arc-based techniques. The same technologies for these lower thrust applications are being applied to 25,000-35,000 pounds-force main combustion chamber (MCC) designs. This paper describes the design, development, manufacturing and testing of these numerous combustion chambers, and the associated lessons learned throughout their design and development processes.

Gradl, Paul R.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Fiberoptics for liquid propellant rocket engine environments

Interest is increasing in the use of fiberoptics on liquid-fueled rocket engines in recognition of their immunity to lightning and EMI, light weight, high-frequency response, and the possibility offered by optical technologies to measure additional important engine parameters for which present measurement methods are impractical. This paper discusses the requirements to be placed on fiberoptics applied to liquid-fueled rocket engines; identifies manufacturers of fibers that appear to have promise for the harsh rocket engine applications; and summarizes information on the characteristics of these fibers obtained from the manufacturers, program testing, and the general literature.

Delcher, R.↗