NASA tests 3D printed rocket engine nozzles at 6000 degrees Fahrenheit

CTOnews.com, October 22 (Xinhua)-- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has successfully tested 3D printed rocket engine nozzles made of aluminum for the first time as part of a project (RAMFIRE) aimed at reducing engine manufacturing costs and weights.

Engineers at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., worked with Elementum 3D in Erie, Colo., to develop a weldable aluminum that is heat-resistant enough to be used in rocket engines, according to NASA's website. Compared with other metals, aluminum has a lower density and can be used to make high-strength, lightweight components.

The engine nozzle is one of the most important components of the rocket. together with the combustion chamber, it must bear the extreme heat produced by the engine combustion and combustion by-products.

NASA and Elementum 3D first developed a new type of aluminum called A6061-RAM2, which is used to build nozzles and modify the powder used in laser powder directional energy deposition (LP-DED) technology. RPM Innovations (RPMI), located in Lapid City, South Dakota, uses newly invented aluminum and special powders to manufacture RAMFIRE nozzles through the LP-DED process.

For RAMFIRE 3D printed rocket engine nozzles, NASA has conducted 22 successful tests with a cumulative test time of 579s / about 10 minutes and a temperature of 6000 degrees Fahrenheit (CTOnews.com Note: about 3315.56 degrees Celsius).