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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 NTRS2012

Formulation and Testing of Paraffin-Based Solid Fuels Containing Energetic Additives for Hybrid Rockets

Many approaches have been considered in an effort to improve the regression rate of solid fuels for hybrid rocket applications. One promising method is to use a fuel with a fast burning rate such as paraffin wax; however, additional performance increases to the fuel regression rate are necessary to make the fuel a viable candidate to replace current launch propulsion systems. The addition of energetic and/or nano-sized particles is one way to increase mass-burning rates of the solid fuels and increase the overall performance of the hybrid rocket motor.1,2 Several paraffin-based fuel grains with various energetic additives (e.g., lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH4) have been cast in an attempt to improve regression rates. There are two major advantages to introducing LiAlH4 additive into the solid fuel matrix: 1) the increased characteristic velocity, 2) decreased dependency of Isp on oxidizer-to-fuel ratio. The testing and characterization of these solid-fuel grains have shown that continued work is necessary to eliminate unburned/unreacted fuel in downstream sections of the test apparatus.3 Changes to the fuel matrix include higher melting point wax and smaller energetic additive particles. The reduction in particle size through various methods can result in more homogeneous grain structure. The higher melting point wax can serve to reduce the melt-layer thickness, allowing the LiAlH4 particles to react closer to the burning surface, thus increasing the heat feedback rate and fuel regression rate. In addition to the formulation of LiAlH4 and paraffin wax solid-fuel grains, liquid additives of triethylaluminum and diisobutylaluminum hydride will be included in this study. Another promising fuel formulation consideration is to incorporate a small percentage of RDX as an additive to paraffin. A novel casting technique will be used by dissolving RDX in a solvent to crystallize the energetic additive. After dissolving the RDX in a solvent chosen for its compatibility with both paraffin and RDX, the mixture will be combined with the melted paraffin. With the melting point of the paraffin far below the decomposition temperature of the RDX, the solvent will be boiled off, leaving the crystallized RDX embedded in the paraffin. At low percentages of RDX additive and with crystallized RDX surrounded by paraffin, the fuel grains will remain inert, maintaining a key benefit of hybrids in the safety of the solid fuel.

Larson, Daniel B.↗
NASA NTRS2018

The Disruptive Technology That is Additive Construction: System Development Lessons Learned for Terrestrial and Planetary Applications

Disruptive technologies are unique in that they spawn other new technologies and applications as they grow. These activities are usually preceded by the question, "What If?" For example, "What if we could use an emerging technology and in-situ materials to promote exploration on the Moon or Mars, and then use that same technology to keep our troops out of harm's way and/or help the worlds' homeless?" This question allows us to flip the mindset of "how can people create more valuable innovation?" to "how can innovation create more valuable people?." This approach allows us to view augmented human labor as an inclusive opportunity, not a threat. The discipline of Additive Construction is growing rapidly due to the flexibility, speed, safety and logistics benefits offered as compared to standard construction techniques. Additive construction is a disruptive technology in that it employs the principles of additive manufacturing on a human habitat structure scale. Developed initially for emergency management and disaster relief applications, additive construction has now grown into military infrastructure and planetary (Moon and Mars) surface infrastructure applications as well. Additive Construction with Mobile Emplacement (ACME) is a NASA technology development project that seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing shelters for human crews, and other surface infrastructure, on the Moon or Mars for a future human presence. The ACME project will allow, for the first time, the 3-dimensional printing of surface structures on planetary bodies using local materials for construction, thereby tremendously reducing launch and transportation mass and logistics. Some examples of infrastructure that could be constructed using robotic additive construction methods are landing pads, rocket engine blast protection berms, roads, dust free zones, equipment shelters, habitats and radiation shelters. Terrestrial applications include the development of surface structures using Earth-based materials for emergency response, disaster relief, general construction, and housing at all economic levels. This paper will describe the progress made by the NASA ACME project with a focus on prototypes and full scale additive construction demonstrations using both Portland cement concrete and other indigenous material mixtures. Rationale for the use of additive construction for both terrestrial and planetary applications will be explored and a thorough state-of-the-art of additive construction techniques will be presented. An evolutionary history of NASA's additive construction development efforts, dating back to 2004, will be included. The paper will then step through a series of trade studies performed to inform key processing and design decisions in the development of the full-scale ACES-3 system developed by NASA and the Jacobs Space Exploration Group for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Construction Engineers Research Laboratory (CERL) in Champaign, IL. The selection of aggregate and binders, based on in-situ materials, will also be presented and discussed

Space Processing↗
DOE OSTI2025

Multiscale and Machine Learning Modeling for Process-informed Microstructure Prediction in Additively Manufactured Materials using MALAMUTE

The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies (AMMT) program under the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy aims to develop and qualify additively manufactured materials for nuclear applications. One key challenge to this is the microstructural variability observed in the additively manufactured products and their impact on the properties and performance of the material in extreme environments. AMMT is using a combination of high-throughput experimental and modeling techniques to accelerate qualification. Conventionally, in-situ and ex-situ characterizations and testing are performed to correlate different aspects of the additive manufacturing process to the final product and its performance. However, adopting a trial-and-error approach to experimentally evaluate the vast range of process parameters required to capture microstructural variability is cost-prohibitive. Modeling and simulation provide a comparatively inexpensive way to understand and correlate the microstructural evolution to the processing conditions. The modeling and simulation work-packages within the AMMT program aims to use physics-based and machine learning models to develop a digital twin for additive manufacturing that can correlate the process conditions to the final product and establish a process-structure-property-performance (PSPP) correlation. The melting and subsequent solidification that occurs during the additive process is a complex phenomenon that requires multiscale multiphysics analysis. This work package focuses on understanding the role of process variabilities on the unique microstructural characteristics of additively manufactured materials. Microstructural features at the subgrain level, such as compositional micro-heterogeneity and dislocation cells, are of particular interest here since they can influence the creep properties and radiation performance. Idaho National Laboratory’s Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE), specifically the MOOSE Application Library for Advanced Manufacturing UTilitiEs (MALAMUTE) software, provides an ideal platform for developing the multiphysics multiscale model to explore the intricacies of the microstructural evolution during the AM processes within a single framework. Furthermore, given that such full-fidelity simulations can be computationally intensive, reduced order models are necessary to explore the PSPP space for additively manufactured materials in an efficient, reliable, and cost-effective way. This work focuses on capturing the microstructural variabilities at the subgrain level that are often missing in the part-scale models. In fiscal year 2025, we significantly advanced upon our work in the last fiscal year, in terms of the predictive capabilities of the physics-based and ML models, by adding the capabilities to capture subgrain-level micro-segregation during solidification using phase-field model and to predict the time-dependent dynamics of the AM process through the MOGPAR model. The alloy solidification model in MOOSE incorporates the thermodynamic properties and free energy relevant to 316 stainless steel. The model demonstrates the Cr and Ni segregation that occurs during solidification, including that the rate of solidification. The microstructural evolution model is connected to the process conditions via the surrogate model developed in this work. This enables predictions of the final microstructure in conjunctions with the manufacturing process. This work supports AMMT's rapid qualification goals by laying the foundation for an efficient and cost-effective model establishing the PSPP correlation for AM. The generated microstructures and predicted micro-segregation can be used by other work packages under AMMT to evaluate the properties and environmental response of the material at the mesoscale. Thus, this work helps to identify the key microstructural features at the subgrain level that are significant in property and performance predictions of additively manufactured components. This work will also provide inputs to the large-scale process variability models to reevaluate and validate assumptions and simplifications made in the part-scale models. Furthermore, through active learning this work can help identify the data need from both modeling and experimental sides for development of a robust digital twin for additive manufacturing and accelerate the AMMT's qualification efforts.

36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2003

Effects of litter addition on ectomycorrhizal associates of a lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) stand in Yellowstone National Park

Increasing soil nutrients through litter manipulation, pollution, or fertilization can adversely affect ectomycorrhizal (EM) communities by inhibiting fungal growth. In this study, we used molecular genetic methods to determine the effects of litter addition on the EM community of a Pinus contorta stand in Yellowstone National Park that regenerated after a stand-replacing fire. Two controls were used; in unmodified control plots nothing was added to the soil, and in perlite plots perlite, a chemically neutral substance, was added to maintain soil moisture and temperature at levels similar to those under litter. We found that (i) species richness did not change significantly following perlite addition (2.6 +/- 0.3 species/core in control plots, compared with 2.3 +/- 0.3 species/core in perlite plots) but decreased significantly (P < 0.05) following litter addition (1.8 +/- 0.3 species/core); (ii) EM infection was not affected by the addition of perlite but increased significantly (P < 0.001) in response to litter addition, and the increase occurred only in the upper soil layer, directly adjacent to the added litter; and (iii) Suillus granulatus, Wilcoxina mikolae, and agaricoid DD were the dominant organisms in controls, but the levels of W. mikolae and agaricoid DD decreased significantly in response to both perlite and litter addition. The relative levels of S. granulatus and a fourth fungus, Cortinariaceae species 2, increased significantly (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively) following litter addition. Thus, litter addition resulted in some negative effects that may be attributable to moisture-temperature relationships rather than to the increased nutrients associated with litter. Some species respond positively to litter addition, indicating that there are differences in their physiologies. Hence, changes in the EM community induced by litter accumulation also may affect ecosystem function.

Fungi/classification/growth & development↗
DOE OSTI2025

Minimizing Energy Loss by Designing Multifunctional Solid Additives to Independent Regulation of Donor and Acceptor Layers for Efficient LBL Polymer Solar Cells

Solid additives are crucial in layer-by-layer (LBL) polymer solar cells (PSCs). Despite its importance, the simultaneous application of solid additives into both donor and acceptor layers has been largely overlooked. In this work, two multifunctional solid additives are actively designed, and investigated the synergistic effect on both donor and acceptor layers. Incorporating the multifunctional solid additives into the donor layer could effectively enhance the aggregation and molecular stacking of the donor polymer, leading to reduced energy disorder and minimizing ΔE 2 . When the multifunctional solid additives are introduced into the acceptor layer, they just play a role in optimizing the morphology, thereby reducing the ΔE 3 . Excitedly, the simultaneous addition of the multifunctional solid additives into both donor and acceptor layers produced a synergistic effect for decreasing ΔE 2 and ΔE 3 simultaneously, especially adding SA2, thus enabling an excellent power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.95% (certified as 19.68%) with an open-circuit voltage (V oc ) of 0.921 V, a short circuit current density (J sc ) of 27.08 mA cm -2 and a fill factor (FF) of 79.98%. The work highlights the potential of multifunctional solid additives in independently regulating the properties of donor and acceptor layers, which is expected as a promising approach for further developing higher performance PSCs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Impact of Lithium‐Free Borate Additives on the Cycle Life and Calendar Aging of Silicon‐Based Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Silicon-anode lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) suffer from limited cycle life and poor calendar life, constraining their large-scale commercialization. Integrating additives into electrolytes is a simple and cost-effective strategy to improve these aspects. The effects of lithium-free boron-based additives on cycling and calendar performance of high-loading Si-anode LIBs remain largely unexplored. In this work, the influence of five Li-free borate additives, each with distinct molecular structures and elemental compositions, is systematically investigated. All additives enhance cycle life to varying extents. Notably, the addition of 1 v/v% tri(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) borate to the baseline electrolyte nearly doubles the cycle life at 50% state of health. This enhancement is attributed to three key factors. Specifically, borate additives 1) improve electrochemical activity, 2) act as anion receptors that interact with [PF6]- anions and carbonate solvents to reduce electrolyte decomposition, and 3) promote the formation of a stable and polymeric solid electrolyte interphase layer. Furthermore, these additives exhibited negligible impact in mitigating leakage current during a 180 h voltage-hold calendar-aging test, indicating their limited effect in calendar life. These findings provide insight into the role of Li-free borate additives in improving cycle life while addressing the knowledge gap regarding their influence on calendar aging.

Li, Defu↗
DOE OSTI2025

Influence of functional additives, fillers, and pigments on thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of polyethylene for waste plastic upcycling

Pyrolysis offers a relatively green and economical method to convert waste plastics into valuable chemicals and fuels without the need for harmful solvents, toxic chemicals, or costly high-pressure reactors. Despite its popularity among chemical upcycling technologies, industrial adoption suffers from feedstock heterogeneity, low-quality products, and catalyst deactivation. Most plastics in our daily lives are formulated with functional additives, fillers, and colorants. These additives remaining in end-of-life waste streams increase feedstock heterogeneity, creating a challenging issue in recycling plastics. Still, the potential impacts of additives on the chemical upcycling of plastics have been poorly understood. In this study, polyethylene compounded with a range of widely used additives (antioxidants, stabilizers, pigments, fillers, slip agents, and flame retardants) was subjected to both thermal pyrolysis and catalytic pyrolysis in different catalyst-to-feedstock contact modes. It showed that many inorganic additives, such as talc, kaolin, CaCO 3 , TiO 2 , carbon black, and zinc stearate, facilitated polymer decomposition during pyrolysis, increasing light hydrocarbons while also promoting aromatic and carbon residue formation. Conversely, antioxidants and stabilizers inhibited depolymerization, favoring heavier hydrocarbons. During catalytic pyrolysis with HZSM-5 zeolite, additives strongly enhanced aromatic and catalytic coke formation, especially when there was direct contact between plastics and catalysts. Although certain additives seem beneficial in the short term by promoting polymer cracking and improving the selectivity of aromatics, the transport of the additives and their degradation products and increased carbon coking can contaminate products, deactivate or modify catalysts, and foul reactors. These findings address a critical knowledge gap in effectively converting waste plastics via a greener route.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

UHT-CAMANCHE: Ultra-High Temperature Ceramic Additively Manufactured Compact Heat Exchangers

The conceptual basis for this project is the convergence of advanced ultra-high temperature ceramic materials and additive manufacturing technologies to produce compact ceramic heat exchangers with complex internal flow path geometries. Task areas were broadly divided into materials and manufacturing development, heat exchanger design, component testing, and techno-economic analysis. Technical challenges included the design and commissioning of new test facilities, improving feature resolution and deposition rate of ceramic additive manufacturing techniques, establishing process-structure-property relationships in additively manufactured ultra-high temperature ceramics, and assessing high temperature materials compatibility in CO 2 environments. The primary candidate material evaluated in this work is a composite comprising zirconium diboride (ZrB2) with 30 vol. % silicon carbide (SiC) which was selected based on its desirable combination of high temperature mechanical properties, high thermal and electrical conductivities, and oxidation resistance. High solids loaded ZrB2-SiC pastes suitable for extrusion-based additive manufacturing were developed for the first time as part of this work. Materials compatibility studies indicate this material oxidizes in CO 2 to form a protective borosilicate scale which transforms to pure silica above 1000°C. Parts made by additive manufacturing displayed enlarged grain sizes produced by pressureless sintering as compared to hot-press sintering. Increases in microstructural coarseness have outsized effect on oxidation performance up to 1400°C due to incomplete oxidation of coarse large diameter SiC particles resulting in lower amounts of silica that apparently inhibit protective scale formation. Additive manufacturing as a forming technique did not appear to significantly affect thermal conductivity, hardness, or elastic modulus, though flexural strength was reduced by half or more as compared to traditionally hot-pressed materials. This effect was attributed to the presence of strength-limiting flaws (ca. 40 microns in size) originating from extrudate inhomogeneities that could potentially be eliminated with further process improvements. Attempts to attain economies of scale for production of multi-kilowatt scale heat exchangers by ceramic additive manufacturing proved difficult. Lack of automation and a modest extrusion rate while retaining fine feature resolution made the overall process labor intensive and limited experimental throughput. A number of full-scale components were taken through post-process heat treatments including drying, binder burnout, and sintering; however, none survived without significant flaws or cracks. Therefore, no operational data from a newly installed heat exchanger test loop were able to be obtained during the performance period. Continued research and development is recommended to improve economic feasibility of ceramic additive manufacturing by standardizing the use of advanced sensors, artificial intelligence, and automation tools to reduce associated labor costs and accelerate production rates. The materials and manufacturing techniques demonstrated in this work are likely to find applications in defense and energy applications.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
NASA NTRS1959

Analysis and Evaluation of Supersonic Underwing Heat Addition

The linearized theory for heat addition under a wing has been developed to optimize wing geometry, heat addition, and angle of attack. The optimum wing has all of the thickness on the underside of the airfoil, with maximum-thickness point well downstream, has a moderate thickness ratio, and operates at an optimum angle of attack. The heat addition is confined between the fore Mach waves from under the trailing surface of the wing. By linearized theory, a wing at optimum angle of attack may have a range efficiency about twice that of a wing at zero angle of attack. More rigorous calculations using the method of characteristics for particular flow models were made for heating under a flat-plate wing and for several wings with thickness, both with heat additions concentrated near the wing. The more rigorous calculations yield in practical cases efficiencies about half those estimated by linear theory. An analysis indicates that distributing the heat addition between the fore waves from the undertrailing portion of the wing is a way of improving the performance, and further calculations appear desirable. A comparison of the conventional ramjet-plus wing with underwing heat addition when the heat addition is concentrated near the wing shows the ramjet to be superior on a range basis up to Mach number of about B. The heat distribution under the wing and the assumed ramjet and airframe performance may have a marked effect on this conclusion. Underwing heat addition can be useful in providing high-altitude maneuver capability at high flight Mach numbers for an airplane powered by conventional ramjets during cruise.

wings↗
NASA NTRS2006

4-Vinyl-1,3-Dioxolane-2-One as an Additive for Li-Ion Cells

Electrolyte additive 4-vinyl-1,3-dioxolane-2-one has been found to be promising for rechargeable lithium-ion electrochemical cells. This and other additives, along with advanced electrolytes comprising solutions of LiPF6 in various mixtures of carbonate solvents, have been investigated in a continuing effort to improve the performances of rechargeable lithium-ion electrochemical cells, especially at low temperatures. In contrast to work by other researchers who have investigated the use of this additive to improve the high-temperature resilience of Li-ion cells, the current work involves the incorporation of 4-vinyl-1,3-dioxolane-2-one into quaternary carbonate electrolyte mixtures, previously optimized for low-temperature applications, resulting in improved low-temperature performance. The benefit afforded by 4-vinyl-1,3- dioxolane-2-one can be better understood in the light of relevant information from a number of prior NASA Tech Briefs articles about electrolytes and additives for such cells. To recapitulate: The loss of performance with decreasing temperature is attributable largely to a decrease of ionic conductivity and the increase in viscosity of the electrolyte. What is needed to extend the lower limit of operating temperature is a stable electrolyte solution with relatively small lowtemperature viscosity, a large electric permittivity, adequate coordination behavior, and appropriate ranges of solubilities of liquid and salt constituents. Whether the anode is made of graphitic or non-graphitic carbon, a film on the surface of the anode acts as a solid/electrolyte interface (SEI), the nature of which is critical to low-temperature performance. Desirably, the surface film should exert a chemically protective (passivating) effect on both the anode and the electrolyte, yet should remain conductive to lithium ions to facilitate intercalation and de-intercalation of the ions into and out of the carbon during discharging and charging, respectively. The additives investigated previously include alkyl pyrocarbonates. Those additives help to improve low-temperature performances by giving rise to the formation of SEIs having desired properties. The formation of the SEIs is believed to be facilitated by products (e.g., CO2) of the decomposition of these additives. These decomposition products are believed to react to form Li2CO3-based films on the carbon electrodes. The present additive, 4-vinyl-1,3-dioxolane-2-one, also helps to improve lowtemperature performance by contributing to the formation of SEIs having desired properties, but probably in a different manner: It is believed that, as part of the decomposition process, the compound polymerizes on the surfaces of carbon electrodes.

Smart, Marshall↗
NASA NTRS2021

Additive Component Manufacturing

State-of-the-art technology like additive manufacturing has not yet been thoroughly applied to fluid control valves. Many valve manufacturing issues such as flow passage machining, deep hole boring, and bi-metallic joining could successfully be addressed with this new technology. The goal of this project was to apply additive manufacturing technology specifically to the problems that fluid control valves present. In order to properly apply additive manufacturing processes to the design of control valves, the plan was to manufacture samples using metals compatible with low temperature, high pressure oxygen service and then tested. While vetting this project with manufacturers, it was determined that the materials chosen were not ideal for additive manufacturing due to their high reflectivity. Therefore, materials for this project were currently undergoing reevaluation and materials that are better suited for additive manufacturing may be substituted. During FY20, additional alloys were selected that would be both appropriate for high pressure oxygen environments as well appropriate for additive manufacturing processes. However, final bid for manufacturing was six times larger than the available funding for this project. Based on previous additive manufacturing projects, the scope and funding for this project were appropriate, but a suitable manufacturer willing to provide a reasonable proposal, was not found. Therefore, funds were de-obligated for this project, and then re-obligated to augment another FY20 CIF project.

Jonathan Dickey↗
DOE OSTI2025

Carbon availability, soil pH, and microbial allocation to nitrogen acquisition shape grassland heterotrophic respiration in response to a decade of nitrogen addition

Previous work has found that anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) impact heterotrophic respiration during soil organic matter decomposition in grasslands, a critical pathway through which carbon (C) is lost from soil to the atmosphere. While N addition typically reduces heterotrophic respiration, why the strength and direction of this N effect varies among sites is unclear. Here, to address this, we conducted a 339-day laboratory incubation to measure heterotrophic respiration from nine grasslands across North America that have received 10 years of factorial N and P fertilization. N addition reduced cumulative respiration most at sites with low pH, low microbial allocation towards N acquisition, and high soil C concentration and availability. However, N addition had neutral rather than positive effects on heterotrophic respiration in sites with high pH and decomposer allocation towards N acquisition. Across sites, a decade of N addition reduced heterotrophic respiration by ∼24 %, driven by reductions in microbial biomass. Heterotrophic respiration was less sensitive to P addition, despite its increasing microbial biomass. However, simultaneous N and P addition did ameliorate negative N effects. These results show that previously observed variation in the response of heterotrophic respiration to N addition can be explained by soil C availability and pH status, widely measured factors which can be used to predict how grassland C fluxes may change under continuing nutrient deposition.

N addition↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lightweight Thrust Chamber Assemblies using Multi-Alloy Additive Manufacturing and Composite Overwrap

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has brought significant design and fabrication opportunities for complex components with internal features such as liquid rocket engine thrust chambers not previously possible. This technology allows for significant cost savings and schedule reductions in addition to new performance optimization through weight reduction and increased margins. Specific to regeneratively-cooled combustion chambers and nozzles for liquid rocket engines, additive manufacturing offers the ability to form the complex internal coolant channels and the closeout of the channels to contain the high pressure liquid propellants with a single operation. Much of additive manufacturing development has focused on monolithic alloys using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), which do not allow for complete optimization of the structure. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) completed feasibility of an AM bimetallic L-PBF GRCop-84 copper-alloy combustion chamber with an AM electron beam freeform Inconel 625 structural jacket under the Low Cost Upper Stage Propulsion (LCUSP) Project. A follow-on project called Rapid Analysis and Manufacturing Propulsion Technology (RAMPT) is under development to further expand large-scale multi-alloy thrust chambers while maturing composite overwrap technology for significant weight savings opportunities. The RAMPT project has three primary objectives: 1) Advancing blown powder Directed Energy Deposition (DED) to fabricate integral-channel large scale nozzles, 2) Develop composite overwrap technology to reduce weight and provide structural capability for thrust chamber assemblies, and 3) Develop bimetallic and multi-metallic additively manufactured radial and axial joints to optimize material performance. In addition to these primary manufacturing developments, analytical modeling efforts compliment the process development to simulate the AM processes to reduce build failures and distortions. The RAMPT project is also maturing the supply chain for various manufacturing processes described above in addition to L-PBF of GRCop-42. This paper will present an overview of the RAMPT project, the process development and hardware progress to date, material and hot-fire testing results, along with future developments.

Additive Manufacturing↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Large Scale and Multi-Alloy Rocket Engine Component Development using Various Metal Additive Manufacturing Techniques

The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has been involved with various forms of metallic additive manufacturing (AM) for use in liquid rocket engine component design, development, and testing since 2010. These AM techniques have been demonstrated to 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 focus at the NASA MSFC for these metal additive manufacturing techniques include laser powder-bed fusion (L-PBF), blown powder directed energy deposition (DED), arc-based deposition, and Laser Wire Direct Closeout (LWDC). A variety of components have been evaluated and tested including thrust chamber injectors, injector components such as faceplates, regeneratively-cooled combustion chambers, regeneratively-cooled nozzles, gas generator and preburner hardware, and augmented spark igniters. To support these component applications in harsh environments, NASA has advanced a variety of “standard” additive manufacturing alloys such as those in the superalloy-family and also evolved new alloys including GRCop-84, GRCop-42, NASA HR-1, and JBK-75. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the various component programs at the NASA MSFC using AM to develop, fabricate, and test combustion devices hardware and the evolution of the new additive alloys. One of these projects that will be highlighted is Rapid Analysis and Manufacturing Propulsion Technology (RAMPT), which includes new process development for large scale AM components, multi-metallic AM components, including unique component designs using additive manufacturing. Additional information will be provided on the development of other components, hot-fire testing, post-processing of AM techniques including surface enhancements (polishing) techniques, material and process characterization, future development programs, and dissemination of data to industry partners.

Additive Manufacturing↗
DOE OSTI2025

SiC Receiver/Reactor by Additive Manufacturing for Concentrated Solar Thermocatalysis with Thermal Energy Storage (Final Technical Report - Public)

The direct use of solar thermal energy provides opportunities for low-cost heating sources for a variety of applications. Ultra-high temperatures around 1000°C are high value and highly useful for energy-demanding industries. Many materials cannot withstand these conditions. In the area of Sustainable Chemicals, further limitations on material stability exist. Combining state-of-the-art materials with new designs provides a promising pathway for harvesting solar thermal energy and performing high temperature chemical processes. However, conventional manufacturing limits the potential for design flexibility. In this project, Additive Manufacturing was combined with advanced materials and new chemical reactor designs. In addition, 24/7 energy is necessary for chemical processing, and designs for ultra-high temperature thermal storage were devised. Specifically, preliminary design of a novel solar thermal receiver was developed in this project and designed to work with thermocatalytic reactors for producing sustainable chemicals and fuels. An ultra-high temperature particle storage system and heat exchangers were proposed to transport ultra-hot air as thermal fluid for the system. On a broader scale, this system could be used to tap solar thermal energy for a centralized facility with capability of transferring that heat to various segments at a full range of temperatures to 1000°C. The project pushed the temperature boundaries past those in current use, and Additive Manufacturing was envisaged for fabricating the receiver to meet requirements of extreme environments. An extensive analysis of silicon carbide additive manufacturing was performed to compare the thermal and mechanical properties of complex geometries compared to conventional material and those manufactured via other methods. The Additive Manufacturing via Binder-Jet printing was optimized and characterized to provide high quality and reproducible components capable of withstanding the proposed extreme environments. The designs for the concentrating solar thermal cavity with ultra-hot air thermal fluid showed high performance in simulations, attributable to the complex optimized geometries of the 3D printed systems. The bright future of Additive Manufacturing with advanced materials developments should provide more options and even higher quality as the technology further develops. Current costs for Additive Manufacturing of advanced ceramics is relatively low, however post-processing of the materials for extreme environments is currently high. There is little industrial-scale infrastructure for these, but it is growing as niche applications become more mainstream. The results of the project can be translated into similar extreme environments for concentrating solar thermal energy as well as its integration with ultra-hot air thermal fluids. A number of industries that require ultra-high temperatures need to electrify or otherwise decarbonize for climate goals, and this project showed that theoretically there is a pathway to do so with direct concentrated solar thermal power.

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS↗
NASA NTRS2015

A Fully Non-Metallic Gas Turbine Engine Enabled by Additive Manufacturing

In a NASA Aeronautics Research Institute (NARI) sponsored program entitled "A Fully Non-Metallic Gas Turbine Engine Enabled by Additive Manufacturing," evaluation of emerging materials and additive manufacturing technologies was carried out. These technologies may enable fully non-metallic gas turbine engines in the future. This paper highlights the results of engine system trade studies which were carried out to estimate reduction in engine emissions and fuel burn enabled due to advanced materials and manufacturing processes. A number of key engine components were identified in which advanced materials and additive manufacturing processes would provide the most significant benefits to engine operation. In addition, feasibility of using additive manufacturing technologies to fabricate gas turbine engine components from polymer and ceramic matrix composite were demonstrated. A wide variety of prototype components (inlet guide vanes (IGV), acoustic liners, engine access door, were additively manufactured using high temperature polymer materials. Ceramic matrix composite components included first stage nozzle segments and high pressure turbine nozzle segments for a cooled doublet vane. In addition, IGVs and acoustic liners were tested in simulated engine conditions in test rigs. The test results are reported and discussed in detail.

Ceramic Matrix Composites↗
NASA NTRS2015

A Fully Non-Metallic Gas Turbine Engine Enabled by Additive Manufacturing

In a NASA Aeronautics Research Institute (NARI) sponsored program entitled "A Fully Non-Metallic Gas Turbine Engine Enabled by Additive Manufacturing", evaluation of emerging materials and additive manufacturing technologies was carried out. These technologies may enable fully non-metallic gas turbine engines in the future. This paper highlights the results of engine system trade studies which were carried out to estimate reduction in engine emissions and fuel burn enabled due to advanced materials and manufacturing processes. A number of key engine components were identified in which advanced materials and additive manufacturing processes would provide the most significant benefits to engine operation. In addition, feasibility of using additive manufacturing technologies to fabricate gas turbine engine components from polymer and ceramic matrix composite were demonstrated. A wide variety of prototype components (inlet guide vanes (IGV), acoustic liners, engine access door) were additively manufactured using high temperature polymer materials. Ceramic matrix composite components included first stage nozzle segments and high pressure turbine nozzle segments for a cooled doublet vane. In addition, IGVs and acoustic liners were tested in simulated engine conditions in test rigs. The test results are reported and discussed in detail.

Additive Manufacturing↗
NASA NTRS1995

Effect of Nb2O5 and V2O5 addition on the superconducting properties of YBa2Cu3O(y) thin films

The effect of Nb2O5 and V2O5 addition on the superconducting properties and microstructure of YBa2Cu3O(y) has been studied in thin films. Polycrystalline targets for laser ablation were prepared by mixing high purity V2O5 or Nb2O5 powders with a well characterized YBa2Cu3O(y) powder in the range 0 to 4 wt percent by solid state reaction method. Thin films (approximately 1500 A thickness) of the above targets were grown on (100) SrTiO3 (STO) and (100) LaAlO3 (LAO) substrates at 700 C temperature by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. In the case of Nb2O5 addition we have noticed an increase in J(sub c) up to 0.5 wt percent and higher additive concentration (greater than 0.5 wt percent) have degraded the superconducting properties. However, in the case of V2O3 addition, there is an improvement in current density and microstructural properties up to 1 wt percent and the superconducting properties degrade for concentrations greater than 1 wt percent. The best J(sub c) for 0.5 wt percent of Nb2O5 added YBCO thin film is 1.6 x 10(exp 6) A/sq cm and for that of V2O5 added sample is 3.4 x 10(exp 6) A/sq cm at 77 K as compared to the pure YBa2Cu3O(y) (YBCO) film J(sub c) (1.2 x 10(exp 6) A/sq cm) observed on STO substrates. The reason for improvement in J(sub c) and microstructural properties in the case of V2O5 addition could be due to the low melting of V2O5 (690 C) which can act as a very good surfactant during deposition. Over all, we have realized that Nb2O5 addition or V2O5 addition to YBCO have shown significant improvement over the undoped YBa2Cu3O(7-x) films grown under identical conditions.

Srinivas, S.↗