Additive Manufacturing of rocket propulsion system

Nishesh Bista; Surya Abhyas Gampa; Vishesh Dharaiya

Abstract

In recent years plenty of research is going on to produce effective manufacturing techniques which can produce complex unique designs with reduced cost and lead time for aerospace applications. In this aspect, Additive manufacturing is getting a wide range of popularity in the aerospace manufacturing domain due to its vast applications and advantages. In terms of geometric flexibility and processing time, additive manufacturing outperforms conventionalmanufacturing processes. Additive manufacturing has found its place in aerospace, defence, biomedical and automotive industries. However, new application areas like space technology are opening up. This method reduces the demand for industrial infrastructure and produces decentralized products. In this study, we have reviewed the manufacturing of rocket propulsion systems through additive manufacturing techniques. Our main focus is on Powder bed fusion and wire-arcadditive manufacturing (WAAM). These techniques help produce fewer weight components with part consolidation, reducing tooling and assembly requirements. Combustion chambers and nozzles produced using this method meet the performance requirements, they also demonstrated significant cost and schedule savings for hardware delivery. The components in rocket engines operate in extreme and harsh environments. Thus, special materials and complex geometries are required to achieve high performance. Additive manufacturing techniques can enable this, which in turn enables designer freedom from geometric constraints commonly found using traditional manufacturing techniques. Many other components such as injector systems in rocket engines can be made using additive manufacturing within less time and into a single injector head without traditional welding and joining many components A review discusses manufacturing processes, materials used and properties. It also discusses various challenges faced by additive manufacturing.