Additive Produced Low-Cost Liquid Engine Injector

ABSTRACT: Microcosm, in cooperation with Aerojet Rocketdyne and Sierra Engineering, proposes to develop a LOX/kerosene swirl injector with a body of Inconel 625 deposited onto a copper faceplate. The post-processing includes stress relief and heat treatment. The copper alloy selection plus the Inconel is critical to enable Inconel post-processes without significant effects. A copper faceplate and the bi-metallic 625 body will be produced in Phase I and tensile testing and metallography will be performed. A swirl injector developed in Phase I will be produced in Phase II, with the preliminary engineering completed in Phase I. This effort is to perfect the process of the bonding of the copper with Inconel and to evaluate the best approach for the injector fabrication. This effort will focus on the process and the expected cost saving using the additive manufacturing (AM) process versus the typical machined process. The process will be analyzed relative to issues of stress and thermal conductivity for a properly performing injector and the resulting information provided as a satisfactory capability for subsequent production of various sized injectors. AM allows for subsequent cost and time savings for future, complex, low-volume production that need the use of dissimilar materials. BENEFIT: The creation of additive manufacturing (AM) has the potential to reduce cost and provide the ability to produce complex parts in small volume at potentially significantly lower cost in both the initial development as well as in production by reducing tooling and challenging assembly. The ability to produce components that incorporate dissimilar materials in these stressful environments is a significant step in the use of AM. The AM development of this SBIR will provide DoD, and non-DoD entities, the ability to create and produce components that are far less expensive and may allow old designs of components no longer available to be reproduced. Many of the older as well as new components need the ability to integrate dissimilar metal materials. The AM as developed in this SBIR can significantly increase the number of new components that can be produced using AM, and allow many companies improved bottom line profits.