ALCAN Can-Do: Advanced Propulsion Development Engine Nails First-Round Testing

Abstract

As part of the Advanced Lightweight Chamber and Nozzle (ALCAN) program, over 50 hot fire tests were run in the Mojave desert over a wide range of pressures and mixture ratios in February and March. These proof-of-concept engines are designed to perhaps one day produce a booster-sized engine weighing half as much as the SSME, with increased performance. The first round of tests, conducted at Polaris Propulsion's Mojave Test Area, were intended to prove the viability of the concept, according to Rocketdyne's Program Manager Scott Claflin. "In other words, we were trying to prove that we could efficiently operate a combustion chamber with a transpiration cooled ceramic matrix composite (CMC) liner" Transpiration, a cooling technique in which a very small percentage of the rocket fuel flow is introduced through uniformly distributed pores in the combustion chamber wall, is similar to what happens when humans perspire.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 23, 2003
Accession Number
ADA414585

Entities

People

  • Susie Unkeless

Organizations

  • Boeing

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Ceramic Matrix Composites
  • Chambers
  • Combustion
  • Combustion Chambers
  • Composite Materials
  • Engines
  • Fires
  • Lightweight
  • Military Research
  • Rocket Fuels
  • Standards
  • Viability

Readers

  • Economics
  • Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
  • Rocket Propulsion.