Low Erosion Ceramic Composite Liners for Improved Performance of Ablative Rocket Thrust Chambers, Phase II

Advanced liquid rocket propulsion systems must achieve longer burn times without performance degradation to allow the lowest cost per kilogram access to space. Ablative thrust chambers have an extensive heritage and are the low cost approach to fabricating rocket thrust chambers.

A number of launch systems under consideration for use by NASA can benefit from the improved performance of a low cost ablative thrust chamber obtained by incorporating a CMC liner. Such applications include the Lunar Ascent Main Engine (AME) The improved performance of these chambers is most suited for upper stage propulsion chambers. Other applications of interest to NASA would include lowering the cost per kilogram launch costs for satellites and space exploration vehicles. Addtionally co-fabrication of a CMC and an ablative could have advantages for heat shield applications The proposed liner concept can have broad implications across a range of DoD rocket propulsion systems that currently use ablative thrust chambers due to the combined improvement in performance and decreased weight of the thrust chamber. The concept can also be utilized in the near term as an upgrade to existing ablative thrust chambers for an immediate performance benefit.

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