Tailored Ultrahigh Temperature Refractory Material Designs for Propulsion Applications

This Phase II SBIR proposal addresses the requirement to significantly improve the affordability and mission performance of SDACS propulsion components by embarking on a program to develop and optimize hafnium-based or hafnium hafnium nitride claddings for advanced structural insulator substrate materials of current interest to MDA programs.Phase II partner Materials Research & Design (MR&D), Wayne, PA, will develop optimized component designs that will then be fabricated by Exothermics for propellant simulation testing.The Ph2 program will make use of a combined thermostructural design and materials selection approach that will support an overall program to develop cost-effective and highly flexible fabrication approaches for enhancing the performance of structural insulator materials by making protective claddings via mechanical encapsulation or diffusion bonding methods.Exothermics will fabricate pintle-type and throat-type SDACS test articles will be subjected to multiple rounds of simulated SDACS simulation testing at one of the propulsion primes.Approved for Public Release 15-MDA-8169 (20 March 15)