Ceramic Composite RDE Hot-Section Components

Rotating Detonation Engines (RDEs) are a leading approach for replacing the Brayton cycle with the much more efficient detonation cycle for air-breathing propulsion. Obtaining these efficiencies will push the limits of available materials, even for applications using significant gas cooling.Those hot-section materials must be chemically stable at heat-soak temperatures of 1450oC while experiencing the accompanying high-frequency, localized shock loadings in excess of 3kHz. Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has developed structural carbon fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composites (CMC) that operate in highly oxidative and corrosive environments to temperatures up to 1760oC for many hours of duration and 2500oC for shorter durations (tens of minutes).These C/SiC based components offer the potential to meet the current cruise missile RDE hot section requirements complicated by supersonic flow, while possibly enabling higher temperature (>1450oC) operation, yielding even better performance and higher efficiencies.During the Phase I program PSI will demonstrate the feasibility of CMCs to meet the requirements of hydrocarbon RDE hot-section components through material screening tests.In the Phase II program PSI will produce hot section assemblies for ground test.Components are targeted to survive 10 hours or more of operationally relevant test times in order to meet flight qualification criteria.