look news india
New Delhi: Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) achieved another major milestone with the successful hot test of liquid rocket engine manufactured by Additive Manufacturing Technology (3D Printing Technology) for a duration of 665 seconds on May 9, 2024. The engine used in it is the PS4 engine of the upper stage of PSLV.
The PS4 engine, built in the conventional machining and welding route, is used for the fourth stage of PSLV, with a thrust of 7.33 kN in vacuum condition. The same engine is also used in the Reaction Control System (RCS) of the first stage (PS1) of PSLV.
LPSC redesigned the engine, making it compatible with the Design for Additive Manufacturing (DFAM) concept, providing significant benefits.
The laser powder bed fusion technology adopted has reduced the number of parts from 14 to single pieces and eliminated 19 weld joints, resulting in significant savings on raw material usage per engine. (13.7 kg of metal powder compared to 565 kg of forgings and sheets for the traditional manufacturing process) and a 60% reduction in total production time.
The engine was manufactured at Indian Industry M/s Wipro 3D and the engine was hot tested at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri.
The engine's injector head was first considered and successfully tested as part of the development programme. Detailed flow and thermal modeling, structural simulations, and cold flow characterization of the proto hardware were performed to gain confidence for hot testing.
The result was four successful developmental hot tests of the integrated engine for a cumulative duration of 74 seconds, validating the engine's performance parameters.
Additionally, the engine was successfully tested for a full qualification period of 665 seconds and all performance parameters were found to be as expected. This AM PS4 engine is planned to be included in the regular PSLV program.
