Additive manufacturing of Liquid Rocket Engine Components

ABSTRACT: Manufacturing of aerospace components requires high precision, complexity, and the ability to perform in harsh environments, thus resulting in low production rates and compromises of efficient-complex designs. Unfortunately, fabrication materials of liquid rocket engines, such as copper alloys, are not immensely established in additive manufacturing and better approaches are needed to overcome the obstacles associated with highly conductive materials. Applications of green lasers in laser welding has resulted in increased absorption, repeatability, and uniform heating, but has yet to be qualitatively assessed in additive manufacturing. Input from Continuous Cooling Transformation (CCT) diagrams, thermo-mechanical boundary conditions, 3-Dimensional Finite Volume (3DFV) methodology, and part geometry in the form of an STL file, will be utilized in University of Louisville"s (U of L) Dislocation Density based Crystal Plasticity Finite Element Model (DDCP-FEM) to predict local and global strengths, grain morphologies, and other layer-by-layer interfacial characteristics. By employing this model using Mound Laser & Photonics Center"s (MLPC) selective laser melting (SLM) development cell, the model"s parameters can be experimentally tested, validated, and used as input for the iterative model. Upon validation between model and development cell, a small liquid rocket engine component will be fabricated using the optimal laser parameters determined by the model. BENEFIT: Due to the low production rates, cost, and difficulties associated with manufacturing aerospace components, the proposed work would provide savings in cost and time for optimization and fabrication of liquid rocket components. Also, new innovation will be investigated in the field of additive manufacturing with the application of a green laser and copper alloys in selective laser melting (SLM). The time savings for engineering development in the form of rapid prototyping of designs as well as complex geometries that do not lend themselves to conventional machining techniques would greatly benefit both commercial and military applications