Application of powder metallurgy techniques to produce improved bearing elements for liquid rocket engines

The objective was to apply powder metallurgy techniques for the production of improved bearing elements, specifically balls and races, for advanced cryogenic turbopump bearings. The materials and fabrication techniques evaluated were judged on the basis of their ability to improve fatigue life, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance of Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) propellant bearings over the currently used 440C. An extensive list of candidate bearing alloys in five different categories was considered: tool/die steels, through hardened stainless steels, cobalt-base alloys, and gear steels. Testing of alloys for final consideration included hardness, rolling contact fatigue, cross cylinder wear, elevated temperature wear, room and cryogenic fracture toughness, stress corrosion cracking, and five-ball (rolling-sliding element) testing. Results of the program indicated two alloys that showed promise for improved bearing elements. These alloys were MRC-2001 and X-405. 57mm bearings were fabricated from the MRC-2001 alloy for further actual hardware rig testing by NASA-MSFC

Cost-Effective TiAl based Materials

Because of their inherent low ductility, TiAl-based materials are difficult to fabricate, especially thin gage titanium gamma aluminide (TiAl) sheet and foil. In this paper, an innovative powder metallurgy approach for producing cost-effective thin gage TiAl sheets (with 356 mm long and 235 mm wide, and a thickness of 0.74, 1.09, 1.55, and 2.34 mm, respectively) is presented. The microstructures and tensile properties at room and elevated temperatures of the thin gage TiAl are studied. Results show that these TiAl sheets have a relatively homogenous chemistry, uniform microstructure, and acceptable mechanical properties. This work demonstrates a cost-effective method for producing both flat products (sheet/foil) and complex chunky parts of TiAl for various advanced applications including aerospace and automotive industries