World's first firings of an ABD® alloy combustion chamber

A collaboration between Airborne Engineering (AEL), Alloyed (formerly OxMet Technologies) and AMRC has resulted in the World's first hot firings of combustion chambers made from ABD® alloys. The project aims to demonstrate that Alloyed's new Nickel based superalloy, ABD®-900AM, has better performance than industry incumbent IN718 for application to liquid rocket engine combustion chambers, because it maintains strength at 900°C. Test combustion chambers were designed by AEL with printing expertise from Alloyed and AMRC, for firing at AEL's facility.

“Materials in AM are often chosen based on their cast or forged properties, without particular concern for whether they print well. ABD®-900AM was specifically designed to provide strength at high temperatures, whilst still being printable without defects” explained William Dick-Cleland, Additive Manufacturing Engineer at Alloyed. “Better materials enable better AM designs, and the production of parts with greater reliability than would otherwise be possible.”

Further firings will be undertaken to better understand the performance limits of ABD®-900AM in rocket engine service. The work undertaken in this project to date is described further in a conference paper.