Additively Joined Arbitrary Size Scramjet Engine Ducts

The Air Force requires large scale scramjet engines but current fabrication methods have long lead times, high part rejection rate, and great expense. PSI will address these shortcomings by developing an Additive Manufacturing (AM) plus brazing process that allows duct segments to be jointed together into large-scale scramjet assemblies.PSIs method makes it possible to combine cooled metal panels together into a leak-free whole. Different metals can be used, as can dissimilar materials such as ceramic and metal. This method makes use of PSIs previously developed heat exchanger geometry, which resulted in substantial reductions to the weight of airborne heat exchangers. PSIs method has demonstrated capability to contain over 20.7 MPa (3000 psi) of internal pressurization, a suitable proof pressure for the 1000 psi requirement.In the Phase I program, PSI and team will build and join panels, test their pressure-holding and heat transfer performance, and construct a 5 x 15 panel for future testing. In the Phase II program, we will build scramjet duct segments for ground test demonstration.