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Point of Contact:
Dr. Gary Seng
Web Developer:
Rick Cowin
NASA Glenn Research Center
Higher Operating Temperature Propulsion Components Project
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Project Objectives
The goal of the HOTPC Project is to develop technologies that will increase the utilization temperature of many propulsion components thereby requiring less system cooling which leads to increased engine propulsion efficiency. Ultimately, these technologies will make contributions to Objective 2 in Goal One to "reduce CO2 emissions of future aircraft by 25% by 2007 and by 50% by 2022". Since many of the technologies being pursued in the HOTPC Project are related to advanced materials which are light weight, by design, the Project will also make contributions to Goal Two: Advance Space Transportation. In particular HOTPC technologies will address Objective 7 to "reduce the cost of taking payloads to orbit. In fact, as part of this plan, several activities are being pursued to transition aeronautics related technologies to space propulsion applications.
The objective of the HOTPC Project is to conduct research that leads to the development of multidisciplinary technologies for affordable propulsion engine components that will enable the system to operate with reduced cooling while sustaining performance and durability. The technical approaches being pursued include: extending the temperature capability of all classes of materials throughout the entire engine, developing life prediction methodologies for the resulting materials and components, validating material characterization behavior and component structural performance with data from rig and engine tests, and replacing standard, metallic, space propulsion components with lighter weight advanced materials.
Technical Summary
The goal of the HOTPC Project is to conduct research that leads to the development of multidisciplinary technologies for affordable propulsion engine components that will enable the system to operate with reduced cooling while sustaining performance and durability. The technical approaches being pursued include: extending the temperature capability of all classes of materials throughout the entire engine, developing life prediction methodologies for the resulting materials and components, validating material characterization behavior and component structural performance with data from rig and engine tests, and replacing standard, metallic, space propulsion components with lighter weight advanced materials. Succeeding technologies will increase the utilization temperature of many propulsion components thereby requiring less system cooling which leads to increased engine efficiency that ultimately contributes to the reduction in engine emissions.
Several Project tasks are devoted to extending the temperature capability of SOA (State- Of-the-Art) materials. To meet this objective, new polymer chemistries are being investigated as resin systems for the composites, which, by design, will have higher glass transition temperatures resulting in a material system that can endure a higher operating temperature environment. In addition, a lightweight oxide ceramic is under development that will retain structural stability in the hottest sections of the engine. In the area of instrumentation, SiC is being investigated as substrate material for a pressure sensor to enable insertion and operation of this sensor in the compressor where temperatures are 400 °F higher than current SOA sensors. A second approach to accomplish this objective is to develop coatings that can be applied to SOA material systems to enable higher temperature operability and/or a longer design life. Coatings, currently being developed in the Project, will protect the substrate structural material from erosion and oxidation, which occur in the hot section of the engine.
In another set of tasks, several analytical tools and models are under development that will computationally predict the behavior and performance life of advanced material systems. Another tool enables an engineer to computationally design an alloy with tailored properties for a specific application. All of these tools will help accelerate the development and application of advanced material systems. Furthermore, there is a tremendous cost savings to the Project since many of the properties and performance screenings can be done on a PC rather than through the rigor of testing dozens of specimens which is very costly.
Of course, analytical tools do not provide all of the insights and answers. Furthermore, industry practices as well as material and component design codes are based on a myriad of data; therefore, another portion of the Project is devoted to understanding the physics of advanced materials and the structural behavior response. To that end, several research activities are devoted to extensive testing and data generation to address some of the technical barriers that still exist for advanced materials, including: fatigue behavior, joining methods, processing techniques, manufacturing technology, and foreign object damage tolerance.
Finally, since many of the HOTPC technologies
are synergistic with activities being pursued in the Advanced Space
Transportation Program, two discrete tasks are devoted to space
related applications. The first involves the replacement of a metal
combustor support chamber in an RBCC engine with a high temperature
PMC that will result in a substantial weight savings which is a
primary driver in Goal Two; Objective 7. This work is being pursued
with Boeing-Rocketdyne. In the second activity, optimized and tailored
coating materials are being developed to maximize the life of thrust
cell liners used in RLV applications. In addition, deformation and
damage models are being developed to assist in resolving this problem.
This effort is being coordinated with MSFC and Rocketdyne. The HOTPC
Project will use the following in-house facilities: ? Materials
Testing Labs ? Analytical Sciences Lab ? Fatigue and Structures
Testing Lab ? Burner Rig Testing Facility ? Non-Destructive Inspection
Labs ? Mechanical Properties Labs ? Coatings Development and Application
Lab
Milestones
| Milestone | Output | Outcome |
| HOTPC-1.1 Demonstrate a 900 °F Silicon Carbide pressure sensor on an engine (9/00) | Demonstrate a pressure sensor with a realistic life making it a commercially viable product | Commercial grade pressure sensor capable of being placed further back in the engine where gas flow temperatures are higher; impacting the current SOA, a 400 °F sensor |
| HOTPC-1.2 Engine Test a coated PMC exit guide vane (5/02) | A lighter weight exit guide vane that can sustain commercial life | With the development of an advanced erosion coating system for the PMC's, lighter exit guide vanes are now possible for both commercial and military applications |