First in China! Huzhou Private Rocket Enterprise Breaks Through Laser Welding Sandwich Nozzle Technology
Published on: February 25th, 2019
Recently, private rocket manufacturer Blue Arrow Aerospace announced that the Blue Arrow Power team has overcome the technical challenge of laser welded sandwich nozzles in one go. At present, the first medium-sized liquid carrier rocket “Zhuque 2” and its equipped 80 ton liquid oxygen methane engine “Tianque” (TQ-12) in China’s private commercial aerospace field are under intense development in Huzhou. This time, the laser welding of the interlayer of the “Tianque” engine nozzle was successful, and the first 80 ton engine nozzle was successfully taken off the production line.
The reporter learned that the nozzle is an important device in the rocket engine thrust chamber, responsible for converting the heat energy of high-temperature and high-pressure gas generated by propellant combustion into kinetic energy. It can be said that it guarantees the specific impulse (specific impulse: the thrust generated by a unit of propellant) performance of rocket engines.
The preparation of nozzle interlayers is crucial for high thrust liquid rocket engines. Because the nozzle of a rocket engine needs to withstand the intense high temperature heating of the gas during operation, it is necessary to use propellant to cool the nozzle. Specifically, the structure of the nozzle is made into a interlayer, allowing the propellant to flow at high speed inside the interlayer before entering the combustion chamber, taking away the heat transferred from the gas to the nozzle to ensure that the nozzle is not burned.
The nozzle diameter of the “Tianque” (TQ-12) 80 ton engine is over 1m, and the welding time is only 2 days. The relevant person in charge introduced that with the further maturity of the subsequent process, it has the potential to compress to within 10 hours. Compared to traditional nozzle manufacturing processes, the manufacturing cycle and cost are only about 1/10 of those of spiral tube bundle nozzles.
Blue Arrow Aerospace’s laser welding sandwich nozzle technology is the first in China and has already applied for a patent. Zhang Changwu, founder and CEO of Blue Arrow Aerospace, stated that this indicates that Blue Arrow has achieved significant results in independent innovation. “Core technology has filled the domestic gap, greatly shortening the development cycle of the ‘Tianque’ engine, reducing costs, and proving the company’s determination to adhere to independent and controllable core technology. It has also conducted a powerful exploration of the diversity of aerospace manufacturing processes
In addition, according to the latest news obtained by the reporter, Blue Arrow Aerospace has also cooperated with the International Laser Equipment Manufacturing Group to build a complete set of robot laser welding equipment. In the near future, the equipment will be delivered and stationed at the Blue Arrow Aerospace Huzhou Intelligent Manufacturing Factory, providing strong support for the subsequent mass production of liquid oxygen methane engines. This set of equipment has a maximum welding power of 8000W, a maximum welding depth of 10mm, and a maximum welding diameter of nearly 2m nozzle. It is suitable for welding various types of stainless steel, high-temperature alloys, copper alloys, aluminum alloys, copper steel dissimilar metals, and high-temperature alloys stainless steel dissimilar metals, meeting the welding needs of large-scale nozzle welding for future secondary and upper level engines. It can also work with other aerospace enterprises.Cooperate with industry, universities, and research institutes to provide services for other aerospace models.
(Source: Zhejiang Online)