Fiber-Reinforced Superalloys For Rocket Engines
High pressure turbopumps for advanced reusable liquid propellant rocket engines such as that for the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) require turbine blade materials that operate under extreme conditions of temperature, hydrogen environment, high-cycle fatigue loading, thermal fatigue and thermal shock. Such requirements tax the capabilities of current blade materials. Based on projections of properties for tungsten fiber reinforced superalloy (FRS) composites, it was concluded that FRS turbine blades offer the potential of a several fold increase in life and over a 200 C increase in temperature capability over the current SSME blade material. FRS composites were evaluated with respect to mechanical property requirements for SSME blade applications. Compared to the current blade material, the thermal shock resistance of FRS materials is excellent, two to nine times better, and their thermal fatigue resistance is equal to or higher than the current blade material. FRS materials had excellent low and high-cycle fatigue strengths, and thermal shock-induced surface microcracks had no influence on their fatigue strength. The material also exhibited negligible embrittlement when exposed to a hydrogen environment.
Materials for advanced rocket engine turbopump turbine blades
A study program was conducted to identify those materials that will provide the greatest benefits as turbine blades for advanced liquid propellant rocket engine turbines and to prepare technology plans for the development of those materials for use in the 1990 through 1995 period. The candidate materials were selected from six classes of materials: single-crystal (SC) superalloys, oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) superalloys, rapid solidification processed (RSP) superalloys, directionally solidified eutectic (DSE) superalloys, fiber-reinforced superalloy (FRS) composites, and ceramics. Properties of materials from the six classes were compiled and evaluated and property improvements were projected approximately 5 years into the future for advanced versions of materials in each of the six classes.
A New Vacuum Pressure Infiltration CFRP Method and Preparation Experimental Study of Composite
In order to prepare a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer composite (CFRP) with ideal microstructure and properties, a new vacuum pressure infiltration CFRP method is proposed based on an analysis of existing CFRP preparation process methods. Research on composite material preparation systems was carried out by using this new method principle. The system mainly includes a fiber pre-forming module, a vacuum heating infiltration module, a hot-press curing molding module, and a data acquisition control module. Under the conditions of natural curing at 0 MPa + 6 h + 25 °C, vacuum heating curing at –0.05 MPa + 30 min + 80 °C, and hot-press curing at 0.7 MPa + 5 min + 50 °C, a two-dimensional (2D) CFRP with excellent microstructure and properties was successfully prepared. Observing the microstructure of the prepared composite material, it can be found that the inside of the composite material was sufficiently and uniformly infiltrated, and common preparation defects such as holes and delamination were effectively controlled. Through the performance test, the bending strength of the material reached 790 MPa.