Platelet Liner Technology Improves NASA's Rocket Engine

By: Emily Groh

Innovative platelet liner technology is vital to NASA because it significantly increases engine performance and increases safety in both reusable and expendable launch vehicles.

In November 2005, the Aerojet Corporation delivered a GRCop-84 platelet liner for a 40,000-pound rocket engine to NASA Glenn. This advanced platelet liner technology is proprietary to Aerojet and unique to NASA's rocket engine development. The successful completion of this liner resulted from a 5-month effort, which is part of a 5-year project managed by Glenn's Constellation Project Office.

Platelet liner technology directly impacts the Vision for Space Exploration by extending both the life and reliability of the rocket engine, said Task Lead David Ellis. Also, the platelet liners may improve both upper and lunar stage modules of the Crew Exploration Vehicle while increasing efficiency and allowing some components to be reused.

Under the direction of Ellis, a cooperative agreement was established between Aerojet and Glenn. The liner was made from thin sheets of GRCop-84, which is a copper-based alloy utilized in high-temperature applications. Glenn played a significant role in the process by providing the GRCop-84 sheets and performing the mechanical testing of the material.

According to Ellis, “The most rewarding part of managing this project has been to see a material successfully taken from an intellectual concept to a functional piece of hardware used for extensive testing.”

Future plans for the project include hot fire testing the liners using oxygen and hydrogen or methane with the goal of exposing them to the same environment of an actual rocket engine. Also, platelet liner technology may some day be used in NASA's Hypersonics Program or for new forms of advanced power generation such as nuclear fusion.