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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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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2014

Additive Manufacturing Design Considerations for Liquid Engine Components

The Marshall Space Flight Center's Propulsion Systems Department has gained significant experience in the last year designing, building, and testing liquid engine components using additive manufacturing. The department has developed valve, duct, turbo-machinery, and combustion device components using this technology. Many valuable lessons were learned during this process. These lessons will be the focus of this presentation. We will present criteria for selecting part candidates for additive manufacturing. Some part characteristics are 'tailor made' for this process. Selecting the right parts for the process is the first step to maximizing productivity gains. We will also present specific lessons we learned about feature geometry that can and cannot be produced using additive manufacturing machines. Most liquid engine components were made using a two-step process. The base part was made using additive manufacturing and then traditional machining processes were used to produce the final part. The presentation will describe design accommodations needed to make the base part and lessons we learned about which features could be built directly and which require the final machine process. Tolerance capabilities, surface finish, and material thickness allowances will also be covered. Additive Manufacturing can produce internal passages that cannot be made using traditional approaches. It can also eliminate a significant amount of manpower by reducing part count and leveraging model-based design and analysis techniques. Information will be shared about performance enhancements and design efficiencies we experienced for certain categories of engine parts.

Whitten, Dave↗
NASA NTRS2016

Additive Manufacturing, Design, Testing, and Fabrication: A Full Engineering Experience at JSC

I worked on several projects this term. While most projects involved additive manufacturing, I was also involved with two design projects, two testing projects, and a fabrication project. The primary mentor for these was Richard Hagen. Secondary mentors were Hai Nguyen, Khadijah Shariff, and fabrication training from James Brown. Overall, my experience at JSC has been successful and what I have learned will continue to help me in my engineering education and profession long after I leave. My 3D printing projects ranged from less than a 1 cubic centimeter to about 1 cubic foot and involved several printers using different printing technologies. It was exciting to become familiar with printing technologies such as industrial grade FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling), the relatively new SLA (Stereolithography), and PolyJet. My primary duty with the FDM printers was to model parts that came in from various sources to print effectively and efficiently. Using methods my mentor taught me and the Stratasys Insight software, I was able to minimize imperfections, hasten build time, improve strength for specific forces (tensile, shear, etc...), and reduce likelihood of a print-failure. Also using FDM, I learned how to repair a part after it was printed. This is done by using a special kind of glue that chemically melts the two faces of plastic parts together to form a fused interface. My first goal with SLA technology was to bring the printer back to operational readiness. In becoming familiar with the Pegasus SLA printer, I researched the leveling, laser settings, and different vats to hold liquid material. With this research, I was successfully able to bring the Pegasus back online and have successfully printed multiple sample parts as well as functional parts. My experience with PolyJet technology has been focused on an understanding of the abilities/limits, costs, and the maintenance for daily use. Still upcoming will be experience with using a composite printer that uses FDM technology to print plastic while laying an internal filament of Kevlar or carbon-fiber inside the printed material. It has been incredible being exposed to this range of technologies and I feel very fortunate to be ready for virtually any kind of printing technology I come across in the future. Design work played a part in my internship this term as well. Working with Hai Nguyen, I was able to design a set of testing tips and a test frame for use with an Arcjet. The testing tips will be made of several different materials that will possibly be used in the heat shield of the Orion space craft. These designs included technical drawings that were presented to the fabrication shop. The frame design was created from 80/20 (a popular brand of frame construction equipment) and included an order form with pricing for fabrication. An independent design was also done for the virtual reality lab. This design was to create a hand-controller based on a previous design. This final design was sent directly to a 3D printer without technical drawings. Overall, my design work has given me experience with using 80/20, helped improve my CAD (Computer Aided Design) proficiency, and increased my knowledge of how to set up technical drawings for fabrication. The final role I have played in this internship has been to assist with testing of the inflatable technology materials working Khadijah Shariff. I began the internship assisting with permeability testing with the initial plan to continue the testing independently after training. Unfortunately, the testing apparatus suffered a technical failure and had funding pulled which cancelled that portion of the project. Further testing with inflatable technology continued with tensile testing of various stitching methods. This testing took place over a two-days and concluded successfully. Final testing was to be more tensile testing but of straps used to connect various inflatable sections. Unfortunately, the needed grips for the tensile tests could not be located and put the testing on hold. It is possible this round of testing will still take place by the end of the internship if the grips can be found. Overall, this portion of the internship has helped me become familiar with one kind of permeability test as well as a popular tensile/compression testing machine. Finally, I also had the chance to be trained using a metal lathe for making very small tips for a soldering iron. These tips will be used to melt threaded brass inserts into 3D printed plastic. Working with James Brown, I was able to successfully machine a brass rod down to as little as 0.064 inches plus or minus 0.001 inches. It was very rewarding to learn how to best use the machine and become familiar with a skill that will undoubtedly be used again in the future. I have been told by several professional engineers that learning to use a lathe and mill will be invaluable skills in the field. This knocks 50 percent of that goal off and I look forward to learning the mill at some point in the future. As is apparent with this list of projects, my internship was not focused on a single over-arching goal. Instead, I was able to gain experience in a myriad of very different areas. I feel like my time here was spent bouncing from one project to the next. Though sometimes difficult to switch gears, it was very rewarding to be a part of so much in so little time. My career and education will be positively impacted by what I have learned at JSC. My experience with 3D printing has improved my ability to handle many issues that may come up in the future with multiple different technologies. The design work I took part in, especially creating technical drawings, will help me better present designs to any engineer or shop I will encounter. My testing experience has helped me become familiar with a popular kind of tensile test machine that will likely be similar to the kinds I will encounter in the future. Finally, my experience with fabrication has given me a rare opportunity, as an engineer, to take part in the fabrication of a part. This experience will help me better tailor my future designs for the manufacturing process and has given me an appreciation for detailed/delicate machining work. My experience at JSC has been successful and will continue to assist me for a long time within the engineering field.

Zusack, Steven↗
NASA NTRS2014

A Modular Aerospike Engine Design Using Additive Manufacturing

A modular aerospike engine concept has been developed with the objective of demonstrating the viability of the aerospike design using additive manufacturing techniques. The aerospike system is a self-compensating design that allows for optimal performance over the entire flight regime and allows for the lowest possible mass vehicle designs. At low altitudes, improvements in Isp can be traded against chamber pressure, staging, and payload. In upper stage applications, expansion ratio and engine envelope can be traded against nozzle efficiency. These features provide flexibility to the System Designer optimizing a complete vehicle stage. The aerospike concept is a good example of a component that has demonstrated improved performance capability, but traditionally has manufacturing requirements that are too expensive and complex to use in a production vehicle. In recent years, additive manufacturing has emerged as a potential method for improving the speed and cost of building geometrically complex components in rocket engines. It offers a reduction in tooling overhead and significant improvements in the integration of the designer and manufacturing method. In addition, the modularity of the engine design provides the ability to perform full scale testing on the combustion devices outside of the full engine configuration. The proposed design uses a hydrocarbon based gas-generator cycle, with plans to take advantage of existing powerhead hardware while focusing DDT&E resources on manufacturing and sub-system testing of the combustion devices. The major risks for the modular aerospike concept lie in the performance of the propellant feed system, the structural integrity of the additive manufactured components, and the aerodynamic efficiency of the exhaust flow.

Peugeot, John↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Calorimeter Heat Flux Trends in NASA’s Subscale Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine

A calorimeter-style rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) outer chamber body was designed, additively manufactured in GRCop-42, and hot-fire tested in test cell 105 at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, AL in August 2024. Steady-state, spatially resolved heat flux and chamber pressure were measured at 13 and 9 locations from the injector face, respectively, for a variety of test conditions and hardware configurations with gaseous methane and oxygen propellants. The 2-in. diameter highly instrumented design, enabled by metal additive manufacturing (AM), allowed for simultaneous measurement of heat flux and chamber pressure through 44 long duration hot-fire tests without failure. Of the 44 tests, only 3 of the tests featured chamber pressures below 100 psia and are discussed in this work. Heat flux trends for this subscale hardware are explored with respect to local propellant mass flux for several different injectors, chamber lengths, and chamber “subsonic” area ratios (contraction ratios). Results show that for increasing chamber pressure, a reduced amount of energy per kilogram of propellant is transferred to the wall. Switching injectors affects the near-face heat flux and chamber pressure profiles. Chamber length does not noticeably affect the heat flux profile but increases bulk heat load. A subsonic area ratio greater than 1 reduces heat losses to the wall compared to a straight annulus case. Equivalence ratio shift did not significantly affect heat flux. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and conjugate heat transfer (CHT) analyses were performed to delineate 3-D heat transfer and coolant mass flow maldistribution effects and create a calorimeter transfer function to transform heat flux data and mitigate the profile distortions. Additional CFD/CHT simulations were performed using experimental data as boundary conditions to assess local nucleate boiling propensity during testing and to assess projected hot wall temperatures for future fatigue assessment. Vapor fractions were observed locally for several cases. It is anticipated that this effort will provide a common framework for coolant system design/analysis in calorimeter systems for rocket-based and air-breathing combustors, ensuring greater repeatability in calorimetry measurements across the research community.

Joseph Hernandez-McCloskey↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Advancing GRCop-based Bimetallic Additive Manufacturing to Optimize Component Design and Applications for Liquid Rocket Engines

Additive manufacturing (AM) is advancing many applications of component design for liquid rocket engines. The ability to rapidly design and manufacture components has provided significant opportunities for development and flight programs across the propulsion industry. AM has demonstrated significant advantages that include cost and schedule savings in addition to performance improvements through new design opportunities. While these performance advantages can be in the characteristics of complex design features, they can also be in the form of new materials. AM has been demonstrated in these various component applications using a variety of metal alloys, many of which are traditional alloys for extreme environments. Additional developments were completed using AM to provide new alloys and maturing these material uses for high performance applications. Almost all of the prior developments across component applications have focused on single-alloys in these AM processes. NASA and industry partners have focused in recent years to advance processing to create bimetallic and multicomponent AM processes and materials. The role of multi-alloy AM offers advantages since it can further optimize weight, optimize reliability and performance by increasing the strength to weight ratio of a component, and can optimize materials for various engineering requirements. This is particularly important in liquid rocket engine combustion devices that must reject heat in high heat flux environments yet maintain adequate structural margins under high operational pressure. NASA has been exploring several AM processes, materials, and applications for combustion devices, specifically combustion chambers, injectors, nozzles, and ignition systems. These components require fine geometric features for internal flow or cooling functionality. They experience high thermal gradients across thin-walls and must survive high pressures and temperatures from propellants and the combustion process. A copper-based alloy is normally used to provide high thermal conductivity, but at the detriment of increased weight if used as a single alloy in an AM chamber. Various AM processes were demonstrated on these components using a copper-based alloy/superalloy bimetallic solution. The AM processes being explored individually and in combination for bimetallic applications include Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), Laser Powder Directed Energy Deposition (LP-DED), and cold spray. The combination of bimetallic material combinations explored in this research include copper-based material primarily and superalloys, Inconel 625 or NASA HR-1. The various aspects of the additive manufacturing processes and challenges, materials characterization, and the testing of bimetallic components in a relevant environment will be discussed.

Additive Manufacturing↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Advancing GRCop-based Bimetallic Additive Manufacturing to Optimize Component Design and Applications for Liquid Rocket Engines

Additive manufacturing (AM) is advancing many applications of component design for liquid rocket engines. The ability to rapidly design and manufacture components has provided significant opportunities for development and flight programs across the propulsion industry. AM has demonstrated significant advantages that include cost and schedule savings in addition to performance improvements through new design opportunities. While these performance advantages can be in the characteristics of complex design features, they can also be in the form of new materials. AM has been demonstrated in these various component applications using a variety of metal alloys, many of which are traditional alloys for extreme environments. Additional developments were completed using AM to provide new alloys and maturing these material uses for high performance applications. Almost all of the prior developments across component applications have focused on single-alloys in these AM processes. NASA and industry partners have focused in recent years to advance processing to create bimetallic and multicomponent AM processes and materials. The role of multi-alloy AM offers advantages since it can further optimize weight, optimize reliability and performance by increasing the strength to weight ratio of a component, and can optimize materials for various engineering requirements. This is particularly important in liquid rocket engine combustion devices that must reject heat in high heat flux environments yet maintain adequate structural margins under high operational pressure. NASA has been exploring several AM processes, materials, and applications for combustion devices, specifically combustion chambers, injectors, nozzles, and ignition systems. These components require fine geometric features for internal flow or cooling functionality. They experience high thermal gradients across thin-walls and must survive high pressures and temperatures from propellants and the combustion process. A copper-based alloy is normally used to provide high thermal conductivity, but at the detriment of increased weight if used as a single alloy in an AM chamber. Various AM processes were demonstrated on these components using a copper-based alloy/superalloy bimetallic solution. The AM processes being explored individually and in combination for bimetallic applications include Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), Laser Powder Directed Energy Deposition (LP-DED), and cold spray. The combination of bimetallic material combinations explored in this research include copper-based material primarily and superalloys, Inconel 625 or NASA HR-1. The various aspects of the additive manufacturing processes and challenges, materials characterization, and the testing of bimetallic components in a relevant environment will be discussed.

Additive Manufacturing↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of Large-Scale Thrust Chambers using Laser Powder Directed Energy Deposition

Historical manufacturing methods for liquid propulsion combustion chambers have relied on series of tube-walls or slotted channel walls (subsequently brazed or plated) for regenerative cooling paths. Large-scale additive manufacturing techniques offer strong potential to minimize manufacturing lead times and cost for developing liquid propulsion chambers, while maintaining performance metrics of traditionally manufactured hardware. The benefits expand beyond traditional combustion chambers to lesser considered nuclear thermal propulsion chambers where radiation energizes the singular incoming propellant stream instead of an exothermic chemical reaction. While each subset of liquid propulsion chambers reaps similar benefit, the geometric challenges in each design can vary substantially. This manuscript discusses the challenges of large contraction ratio propulsion chambers, bimetallic liners and closeout jackets, and material selection when considering laser powder directed energy deposition. LP-DED presently offers build volumes unattainable by L-PBF systems, required for large diameter thrust chambers. LP-DED typically has faster deposition time and is capable of overhang angles without support material (due to the ability to tilt the build plate and minimize the actual build angle). These benefits come at the cost of feature resolution. Designers and manufacturers should consider the effects of thick-wall features printed parallel to the primary surface versus perpendicular due to distortion. Thick-wall and thin-wall features printed in the same plane can substantially increase build time. Where large-scale L-PBF overlaps in size, there may be limited benefit in the quantity of powder required for the build due to the low capture rate of LP-DED and a case-by-case examination is required.

LP-DED↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Tesla Valve Integration into Propulsion Systems for Water Hammer Mitigation

Water hammer is a pressure surge or wave caused when a liquid in motion is forced to stop or change direction suddenly. Satellite and in-space propulsion systems exhibit this effect when valves, which can pulse several times per second, close quickly to isolate propellant from thrusters. The inherent nature of pulsing thrusters quickly has made water hammer a constant design challenge for these systems. Historically, the standard is to accept that the Maximum Design Pressure (MDP) of the system must account for a full worst case water-hammer event, which can be several times the Maximum Expected Operating Pressure (MEOP). An investigation is being conducted to determine the effectiveness of tesla valves in reducing water hammer amplitudes. Tesla Valves can be used in-line within propulsion systems to allow unrestricted flow in one direction and restricted flow in the opposite direction without the use of added mechanical or electrical components. Tesla valves use fixed internal geometry to allow for this unrestricted and restricted flow. With the increase and capability of Additive Manufacturing (AM), different configurations and concepts of tesla valves can be manufactured and tested at minimal cost. This concept could possibly be used to allow for a less complicated, or robust satellite and in-space propulsion system. This presentation will cover topics of additive manufactured design of tesla valves, testing, and variables to consider within tesla valve creation.

Michael A Willis↗
NASA NTRS2015

Space Structure Development

The duration of my Summer 2015 Internship Tour at NASA's Johnson Space Center was spent working in the Structural Engineering Division's Structures Branch. One of the two main roles of the Structures Branch, ES2, is to ensure the structural integrity of spacecraft vehicles and the structural subsystems needed to support those vehicles. The other main objective of this branch is to develop the lightweight structures that are necessary to take humans beyond Low-Earth Orbit. Within ES2, my four projects involved inflatable space structure air bladder material testing; thermal and impact material testing for spacecraft windows; structural analysis on a joint used in the Boeing CST-100 airbag system; and an additive manufacturing design project.

Smith, Thomas↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Making & Breaking the Rules for DED Design

Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) is widely used to describe design activities and guidelines employed in the creation of Additively Manufactured (AM) parts. Basic design rules for widely adopted processes like Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) are relatively understood including material performance, part size constraints, self-supporting angles, overhangs, wall thicknesses, and feature resolution. Complexity is often inherent with PBF using organically inspired solutions through generative design and topology optimization software to create designs that often cannot be realized via traditional manufacturing processes. The design rules for Directed Energy Deposition (DED) are less well known, and, in some cases, the lack of understanding is likely inhibiting broader application of the various DED processes. This presentation covers key design rules for DED fusion processes and elucidates opportunities like multi-material deposition and build approaches ranging from basic features to complex large-scale parts. Complementary to the opportunistic characteristics of DfAM for DED, Manufacture for AM (MfAM) encompasses the restrictive aspects of the manufacturing lifecycle with limitations due to bead width and wall thickness, self-supporting angles, surface texture, microstructural evolution, and residual stresses. AM enabled part design must always consider the entire value chain starting with incoming feedstock (e.g. plate, wire, or powder) and progressing through the printing process, post-processing (e.g. machining, inspection), and final system assembly. Key considerations, like the tradeoffs between feature resolution and build rate, for process and part selection and economic assessments will be discussed as DED is often traded against other AM processes. After highlighting typical DED design rules, we will also show how some of those rules can be broken via use cases and part designs that span the full spectrum of DED processes with examples of various DED part designs.

Additive Manufacturing↗