Low-Cost Fabrication Methods for Arcjet Heater Segment Development

High pressure segmented arc heater facilities are the core of the Nation’s aerospace capabilities used to test high-pressure, aeroheating environments up through Mach 20. The special thermal environments of these unique facilities require a thorough understanding of the design considerations in high heat flux material selection and fabrication technologies. The proposed research effort will demonstrate the production of an innovative, yet cost effective, approach to the fabrication of new arcjet heater segments, such as those used in the AEDC H1 and H3 hypersonic wind tunnels. This technical innovation was driven by the significance of the extreme thermal environment and the special engineering and fabrication considerations in the existing heater segment design. The resulting fabrication procedure will facilitate the production of repeatable, cost effective arcjet segments that require little or no proprietary skill sets to manufacture.