Wed, 10 February, 2021
Dr Raja Khan will be presenting the latest research findings from the European Space Agency (ESA) funded programme titled, ‘Powder Metallurgy Based Materials for High Wear Resistance, High Hardness and High Temperature’ during the 2nd ESA Workshop on Advanced Manufacturing virtual event arranged on 2-3 March 2021 by ESA-ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
The ESA-funded project focuses on the use of near net shape powder metallurgy hot isostatic pressing (NNS PM HIP) technology for the manufacture of space critical components.
The use of NNS PM HIP will allow manufacturing of complex-shaped components with substantial advantages, including reduced buy-to-fly ratio, minimising material wastage, and reducing solidification defects, such as segregation or porosity, and thus guaranteeing the production of defect-free components with enhanced mechanical properties.
TWI Ltd is working in collaboration with the University of Birmingham, Airbus Defence and Space, Nammo Westcott Ltd. and ESR Technology on this programme to develop a reliable PM manufacturing route for the production of two space demonstrators, i.e. turbopumps, mechanical seals and thruster’s combustion chamber.
Figure 1. Hot fire test of thruster’s combustion chamber
Figure 2. SEM micrograph of niobium (Nb) powder (left); EBSD map of as-HIPed Nb (right)