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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 NTRSDate not supplied

Investigation of Additive Manufactured GRCop-42 Alloy Developed by Directed Energy Deposition Methods

GRCop is an alloy family constructed of copper, chromium, and niobium and was developed by NASA for high heat flux applications. GRCop-alloys were specifically formulated for the requirements in channel-cooled main combustion chambers allowing for repeat use in high heat flux environments[1]. GRCop-84 was evolved using additive manufacturing techniques under a NASA development program. To further increase thermal conductivity while maintaining material strength characteristics, the percentage of alloying elements were cut in half and GRCop-42 was developed. In recent years, NASA has successfully additively manufactured GRCop-42 with comparable material characteristics to extrudedGRCop-42 using a Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) process. Benefits of this process include fabrication of intricate internal cooling channels as well as a decrease in manufacturing time. However, there are some large disadvantages in using this process. The nature of the powder bed process imposes a strict volume constraint as well as an excessive amount of material inventory required. A Directed Energy Deposition (DED) process addresses these limitations while also speeding up the manufacturing process. With little data on how DED performs with GRCop-42, an investigation into the mechanical properties was conducted. More specifically, Blown Powder Directed Energy Deposition (BPD), was used to compare material properties to that of the L-PBF manufactured GRCop-42. The DED manufactured material was found to have less than 0.1% porosity. Tensile tests concluded that the DED manufactured GRCop-42 had lower tensile strengths at room temperature. The results point towards a process capable of producing fully dense parts capable of meeting mechanical strength requirements with some possible refinement of printing parameters.

GRCop-42↗
NASA NTRS2026

Fatigue Behavior of Laser Powder Bed Fused HAYNES 214: Effects of Different Surface Treatments

In this study, under NASA’s Rapid and Analysis Manufacturing Propulsion Technology (RAMPT) project, effects of different surface post-treatments on surface texture and fatigue behavior of L-PBF Alloy 214 were investigated. Various subtractive SPTs including abrasive flow machining (AFM), machining (M), shot peening (SP), vapormatt (VM), dry electropolishing (DE), chemical milling (CM), chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP), electro chemical (ECP) were applied to study the variations of the surface texture, microstructure and uniaxial fatigue behavior under fully reversed strain-controlled condition at four different strain amplitudes of 0.005, 0.004, 0.003, and 0.0025 mm/mm. The insights gained regarding the relationship between structural and mechanical properties for different SPTs can help establish guidelines for selecting the most effective process to enhance the performance of Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) Alloy 214, especially for critical aerospace applications.

Post-Processing↗
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↗
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 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 NTRS2026

A Dispersion-Strengthened Low-Density Niobium Alloy and Its Elevated Temperature Mechanical Performance

In response to the elevated-temperature and weight-reduction demands of modern aerospace applications, a novel oxide-dispersion-strengthened low-density niobium alloy (LDNb-ODS) was fabricated using laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF). To overcome powder procurement barriers, L-PBF feedstock was produced by blending commercial Nb521, Ti64, and Cr powder with Y2O3 nanoparticles via resonant acoustic mixing. Following L-PBF and a 1400°C vacuum heat treatment, the alloy achieved a density of 6.73 g/cc and a fine mean grain size of 4.62 µm stabilized by uniform ~30 nm yttria dispersoids. Microstructural analysis revealed a chemically inhomogeneous build with lack-of-fusion defects and a titanium (Ti) shift from a nominal 31.5 wt% in the starting powder blend to 24.8 wt% in the printed part due to preferential Ti loss during printing. Elevated-temperature tensile testing demonstrated that LDNb-ODS maintained a superior specific yield strength of 60-85 MPa/(g/cc) up to 800°C, outperforming nickel-based alloys Ni625, Ni230, and GRX-810. Between 870°C and 950°C, its specific strength surpassed both Ni718 and Ni625. In rapid stress-rupture testing at 1093°C and 20.7 MPa, uncoated LDNb-ODS survived 21.4 hours (a tenfold increase over legacy C-103) while an R512E silicide coating extended rupture life to 84.8 hours, confirming that oxidation accelerates low-stress failure. These findings demonstrate that additive manufacturing of LDNb-ODS provides a viable, lightweight alternative to nickel-based superalloys for high-temperature (>850°C) aerospace components.

Low Density Niobium Alloy↗
NASA NTRS2018

NASA’s Plans for Development of Standards for Additive Manufactured Components

There are currently no NASA standards providing specific design and construction requirements for certification of additively manufactured parts. Several international standards organizations are developing standards for additive manufacturing; however, NASA mission schedules preclude the Agency from relying on these organizations to develop standards that are both timely and applicable. NASA and its program partners in manned spaceflight (the Commercial Crew Program, the Space Launch System and the Orion Multi-purpose Crew Vehicle) are actively developing additively manufactured parts for flight as early as 2018. To bridge this gap, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has authored a center-level standard (MSFC-STD-3716)1 to establish standard practices for the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) process. In its draft form, the MSFC standard has been used as a basis for L-PBF process implementation for each of the manned space flight programs. The development of an Agency-level standard is proposed, which based upon the principles of MSFC-STD-3716, would have application to multiple additive manufacturing processes and be readily adaptable to all NASA programs.

Russell, Richard W.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Additive Manufacturing of NASA HR-1 Material for Liquid Rocket Engine Component Applications

NASA HR-1 is a high-strength Fe-Ni superalloy designed to resist high pressure, hydrogen environment embrittlement, oxidation, and corrosion. NASA HR-1 was originally developed at NASA in the 1990’s and derived from JBK-75 to increase strength and ductility in high-pressure hydrogen environments. The NASA HR-1 chemistry was formulated to meet requirements for liquid rocket engine applications, specifically components used in a high-pressure hydrogen environment. Recent developments using additive manufacturing (AM) have made this material an attractive option for channel-cooled nozzles under the Rapid Analysis and Manufacturing Propulsion Technology (RAMPT) program and other liquid rocket engine component applications. The RAMPT program has baselined to fully evolve and characterize NASA HR-1 material. 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 channel-cooled nozzles in high heat flux environments. Initial development and characterization has been completed using blown powder Directed Energy Deposition (DED) and Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) additive manufacturing techniques to develop material test samples and nozzle hardware. NASA HR-1 powder has been sourced and characterized from several powder suppliers, and a series of development and hardware samples completed fabrication using DED and L-PBF. Characterization of the material has included heat treatment development, metallography, chemistry evaluations, mechanical testing, measurement of thermophysical properties, and fabrication of relevant nozzle hardware to demonstrate feasibility. This paper presents results from the process and early materials development and provide future development work including hardware fabrication.

Katsarelis, Colton↗
NASA NTRS2020

Efficient production of a high-performance dispersion strengthened, multi-principal element alloy

Additive manufacturing currently facilitates new avenues for materials discovery that have not been fully explored. In this study we reveal how additive manufacturing can be leveraged to produce dispersion strengthened (DS), multi-principal element alloys (MPEA) without the use of traditional mechanical alloying or chemical reactions. This new processing technique employed resonant acoustic mixing to coat an equiatomic NiCoCr powder with nano-scale yttrium oxides. Then, through laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), the coated powder was successfully consolidated into 99.9% dense parts. Microstructural analysis confirmed the successful incorporation and dispersion of nano-scale oxides throughout the build volume. Furthermore, high temperature mechanical testing of the DS alloys showed significant improvements in strength and ductility over the baseline NiCoCr. As a result, this recently discovered processing route opens a new alloy design and production path that is synergistic between additive manufacturing and dispersion strengthening, possibly enabling a new generation of high-performance alloys.

T.M. Smith↗
NASA NTRS2017

Development of NASA Standards for Enabling Certification of Additively Manufactured Parts

There are currently no NASA standards providing specific design and construction requirements for certification of additively manufactured parts. Several international standards organizations are developing standards for additive manufacturing; however, NASA mission schedules preclude the Agency from relying on these organizations to develop standards that are both timely and applicable. NASA and its partners in human spaceflight (Commercial Crew, Space Launch System, and Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Programs) are actively developing additively manufactured parts for flight as early as 2018. To bridge this gap, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is authoring a Center-level standard (MSFC-STD-3716) 1 to establish standard practices for the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) process. In its draft form, the MSFC standard has been used as a basis for L-PBF process implementation for each of the human spaceflight programs. The development of an Agency-level standard is proposed, based upon the principles of MSFC-STD-3716, which would have application to multiple additive manufacturing processes and be readily adaptable to all NASA programs.

NASA Standards↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Component Applications using Metal Additive Manufacturing Techniques and Materials for Rocket Propulsion

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. 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) and arc-based deposition. 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 programs at the NASA MSFC using AM to develop, fabricate, and test combustion devices hardware and the evolution of the new additive alloys. Additional information will be provided on the development of multi-metallic additive manufacturing, 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↗
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↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Nanomechanical Characterization of Additive Manufactured GRCop-42 Alloy Developed by Directed Energy Deposition Methods

Propulsion applications such as combustion chambers and nozzles for liquid rocket engines require the use of unique materials with superior mechanical and thermal properties. GRCop-42(Cu-4 wt.% Cr-2 wt.% Nb) is one such candidate material developed by NASA and is now being manufactured using additive manufacturing (AM) techniques. AM offers a unique processing environment different from traditional metal fabrication processes. This study characterized the mechanical and structural properties of as-deposited and heat-treated GRCop-42manufactured with Blown Powder Directed Energy Deposition (BPD)based on preliminary testing. The materials were characterized using several techniques including surface profiling by laser microscopy, mechanical stiffness by instrumented indentation, crystal structure, residual stress measurements using XRD and residual XRD, and chemical composition and microstructural evaluation using SEM with EBSD. The results of the study are compared using the BPD techniques for samples in the as-deposited and heat-treated conditions.

GRCop-42↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Advanced and Additive Manufacturing Technologies for Liquid Rocket Engine Components

Overview of advanced manufacturing and additive manufacturing development at NASA for liquid rocket engines. Presentation includes various material, process, design, and hot-fire testing developments demonstrating the use of advanced components for liquid rocket engines on launch vehicles and in-space systems.

Additive Manufacturing↗