This viewgraph presentation gives a brief history of the J-2X engine, along with detailed description of the material demonstrator and test articles that were created using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) process

Anderson, Ted

Ruf, Joe

Steele, Phil

NASA Technical Reports Server

J-2X Test 
Articles 
using FDM 
Process
T d A d (R th )e  n erson ay eon
Thanks to Joe Ruf (NASA)
And Phil Steele (ICRC)
www.nasa.gov
   
01/06/09
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20100005040 2019-08-30T08:57:18+00:00Z
Contents
♦ Introduction to the J-2X
• History
• Today
♦Built Parts in the FDM Process
• Material Test Article
• Film Coolant Test Article   
♦Benefits of FDM
♦Areas of Improvement
♦Questions
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Introduction
♦Saturn V was used for the Apollo program from 1967 until 1973
♦Space Shuttle is currently in use and is an orbiter
♦Ares I is the crew launch vehicle being developed for Project 
Constellation
♦Ares IV no   
longer in 
development
♦Ares V is the    
cargo launch 
component for 
Project 
C t ll tions e a on
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Introduction
♦A Brief History
• Rocketdyne created the J-2 for the Saturn V rocket
− It was the largest production liquid hydrogen fueled rocket engine before the Spae
• A unique 
characteristic at the 
             
Shuttle main engines
time was the ability 
to re-start after 
shutdown
• Five J-2 engines on    
the upper-stage of 
the Saturn V
• One on the third 
stage of the Saturn 
V
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Introduction
♦Today
• The J-2X is a variant of the J-2 engine
• It was originally planned to use the J-2X only         
for the Earth Departure Stage
• With expense for 
− converting the SSME from ground-started to air-
t t bl is ar a e eng ne
− constructing new SSMEs
− pre-firing SSMEs for each mission
NASA decided to adopt the J-2X for the 
fsecond stage o  the Ares I and Ares V
• This allows NASA to launch the Ares I rocket 
within 3 years after retiring the Shuttle in 2010
One of the engineering challenges is
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cooling the Nozzle Extension sufficiently 
Introduction
♦The J-2X uses Turbine Exhaust Gas 
(TEG) to cool the nozzle extension.
Core
flow
H2/O2, Mix Ratio = 1.
♦Motivation of the Cold Flow Testing
• Reduce the uncertainty in the predicted 
Gas 
Generator
P0 ~ 200psia
thermal environment of the nozzle 
extension. Noz
TEG 
M if ld
Turbine
Supersonic Film Injection
Parallel to wall.
Noz. 
Extension
an o
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Exit
Cold Flow Test Approach
♦The cold flow testing used existing hardware for the nozzle base. 
♦Two RP Parts were fabricated for the nozzle extension
• Material Demonstrator Part Objective:
Determine if material will work for nozzle extension.
• how to build and machine
• will it survive testing loads
• can it be instrumented for temperature and       
pressure measurements.
Determine wall temperature measurement 
technique.
Develop and prove data acquisition methods..
Aluminum 
Base Nozzle
• Film Coolant Test Article
Part Objective:
Obtain test data: wall temperatures with      
different film cooling rates and temperatures.
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The manifold injects simulated turbine exhaust gas (TEG) to act as a film coolant to 
the nozzle extension. 
1st Part Built, Material Demonstrator
Material Demonstrator
♦Material: “White” polycarbonate (PC)
• An additional 0.01 of material was added, so 
the surface could be machined 
• Objective: Test the polycarbonate material in a 
fluctuating thermal environment test the  ,   
rigidity of the FDM part, develop 
instrumentation techniques and develop data 
acquisition methods.
♦Steps
• Machined the “wetted” and joint surfaces of the 
test article using a lathe; a smoother surface 
fi i h i d f i fl i d
Test Article
n s  was requ re  or a r ow test ng an  
turning on a lathe ensured the test article was 
concentric throughout the nozzle curvature.
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1st Part Built, Material Demonstrator
♦Material Demonstrator
• Steps (continued)
− The test article was sprayed with a flat black paint for IR camera emissivity              
requirements and to seal any porous spots and attached to the test stand.  The 
article was heat cycled twice at 180° F to ensure it stayed concentric and circular.  
The initial test was a success.
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1st Part Built, Material Demonstrator
♦Material Demonstrator
• Steps (continued)
− Instrumentation and data acquisition   
•The test article was fitted with multiple thermal testing instruments; “homemade” 
thermocouples, thermistors, and resistance temperature devices (RTDs). 
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1st Part Built, Material Demonstrator
♦Material Demonstrator
• Steps (continued)
− There was difficulty drilling directly into the test article with small diameter drill bits             .  
1/8th inch bits and larger were no problem.
− A variety of temperature measurement instruments were tried..
− The in-house fabricated ‘button’ thermocouples, shown below on the right, proved 
to work the best
Drill bit
   . 
•The desired measurement was adiabatic wall temperature.  Wanted minimum influence of 
the temperature/thermal mass of the plastic.
Part layers 0.28” dia  
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1st Part Built, Material Demonstrator
♦Material Demonstrator 
• When the temperature increased, the thermocouples 
responded quickly
Nozzle Base
 
• The axial temperature distribution was as expected Flow
a
l
i
b
r
a
t
e
d
U
n
c
a
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2nd Part Built, “Test Article”
♦Film Coolant Test Article
• Material: “white” polycarbonate for nozzle 
extension; “black” Polycarbonate/Acrylonitrile   
Butadiene Styrene for the manifold (PC – ABS 
blend)
− The manifold has internal channels, so Water Works 
t d d i f b i tisuppor  was use  ur ng a r ca on 
• Objective: Obtain measurements of the adiabatic 
wall temperature with different film coolant flow 
rates.  The information will be utilized to create film 
coolant effectiveness curves.  These curves can 
be scaled to the actual J-2X conditions.
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Pre-machined  Test Article
2nd Part Built, “Test Article”
Core
♦Film Coolant 
Test Article
flow
H2/O2, Mix Ratio = 1.
P0 ~ 200psia
Gas 
Generator
Noz
TEG 
Manifold
Turbine
Noz. 
Extension
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Exit
2nd Part Built, “Test Article”
♦Film Coolant Test Article
• Also needed to be 
machined.
• Supports were kept in the 
manifold to help support the 
part when it was machined.
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2nd Part Built, “Test Article”
♦Film Coolant Test Article
• The supports were dissolved 
away allowing air flow to travel in       
the channels of the manifold.
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2nd Part Built, “Test Article”
♦Film Coolant Test Article
• Currently is being attached to the test fixture.
• Temperatures will range between 40 - 150° F with 15 psi absolute in the            
manifold.
− The J-2X temperature will be around 5500° F at the nozzle and 600° F from the 
TEG/manifold.
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2nd Part Built, “Test Article”
♦Film Coolant Test Article
• Initial setup
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Part Built
♦Film Coolant Test Article
• Pre-test CFD analysis with a temperature hot flow of 250° F.
Twall (Adiabatic),  Thot_total =710R, Phot_total=200psia
660
680
700
18
19
20
No Film
540
560
580
600
620
640
(
R
)
12
13
14
15
16
17
Baseline Wall T
Baseline Wall T extrapolated
TTEG=460R, PTEG=3.3psia
TEG Off
(
R
)
/Fil
440
460
480
500
520
T
e
m
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r
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(
7
8
9
10
11
G
e
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r
y
,
 
Y
(
i
n
)
TTEG=460R, PTEG=6.6psia
TTEG=570R, PTEG=3.3psia
Side Load Noz Contour
Test Article
T
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(
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y
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Y
(
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)
w m
320
340
360
380
400
420
1
2
3
4
5
6
geometry
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300
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Axial Station (in)
0
2nd Part Built, “Test Article”
♦Film Coolant Test Article
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2nd Part Built, “Test Article”
♦Film Coolant Test Article
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2nd Part Built, “Test Article”
T t ti l i ibles  ar c e v s e.
IR image, prior to start
IR image, immediately
after start
IR image, at end of test
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
IR image of wall temperature,
uncalibrated (at this time)
FDM Benefits
♦Why were the parts created in the Fused Deposition Modeling 
system?
• At the time it had the largest build area at 14” x 16” x 12”  ,            
• The material properties
• Except for tracking, the test articles could be drilled and tapped relatively 
easily
♦Cost savings of $24k – $44k.
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Areas of Improvement
♦The surface finish
• Even if the ID surface is smooth enough for air flow testing, it still needs to be 
machined to ensure the dimensions of the wall (need better accuracy)          .
♦Material properties
• Withstand higher temperatures
♦Deformed to be slightly out of round
• Based on experience with the Material Test Article, 0.030 was added to the 
ID of the Film Coolant Test Article to compensate.  This still deformed 
slightly so next time 0 1 will be added to the ID,   , .       .
♦Low cycle thermo fatigue
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Questions
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J-2X Test Articles Using FDM Process

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