Orbital ATK Successfully Tests Hypersonic Engine Combustor Produced Through Additive Manufacturing
January 18 2016 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
3D-Printed Unit Demonstrates One of Longest
Duration Propulsion Wind Tunnel Tests on Record
Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense
technologies, announced today that it has successfully tested a
3D-printed hypersonic engine combustor at NASA Langley Research
Center. The combustor, produced through an additive manufacturing
process known as powder bed fusion (PBF), was subjected to a
variety of high-temperature hypersonic flight conditions over the
course of 20 days, including one of the longest duration propulsion
wind tunnel tests ever recorded for a unit of this kind. Analysis
confirms the unit met or exceeded all of the test requirements.
One of the most challenging parts of the propulsion system, a
scramjet combustor, houses and maintains stable combustion within
an extremely volatile environment. The tests were, in part, to
ensure that the PBF-produced part would be robust enough to meet
mission objectives.
“Additive manufacturing opens up new possibilities for our
designers and engineers,” said Pat Nolan, Vice President and
General Manager of Orbital ATK’s Missile Products division of the
Defense Systems Group. “This combustor is a great example of a
component that was impossible to build just a few years ago. This
successful test will encourage our engineers to continue to explore
new designs and use these innovative tools to lower costs and
decrease manufacturing time.”
The test at Langley was an important opportunity to challenge
Orbital ATK’s new combustor design, made possible only through the
additive manufacturing process. Complex geometries and assemblies
that once required multiple components can be simplified to a
single, more cost-effective assembly. However, since the components
are built one layer at a time, it is now possible to design
features and integrated components that could not be easily cast or
otherwise machined.
PBF is one of several manufacturing methods currently being
explored by Orbital ATK and its technology partners. Final assembly
of the test combustor was completed at the company’s facilities in
Ronkonkoma, New York, and Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in Rocket
Center, West Virginia.
Orbital ATK’s Defense Systems Group is an industry leader in
providing innovative and affordable precision and strike weapons,
advanced propulsion and hypersonics, missile components across
air-, sea- and land-based systems, ammunition and related energetic
products.
About Orbital ATK
Orbital ATK is a global leader in aerospace and defense
technologies. The company designs, builds and delivers space,
defense and aviation systems for customers around the world, both
as a prime contractor and merchant supplier. Its main products
include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; missile
products, subsystems and defense electronics; precision weapons,
armament systems and ammunition; satellites and associated space
components and services; and advanced aerospace structures.
Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, Orbital ATK employs
approximately 12,000 people in 18 states across the United States
and in several international locations. For more information, visit
www.orbitalatk.com.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160118005008/en/
Orbital ATKMedia Contact:Bryan Kidder,
410-864-4932Defense Systems Group
Communicationsbryan.kidder@orbitalatk.comorInvestor
Contact:Barron Beneski, 703-406-5528Public and Investor
Relationsbarron.beneski@orbitalatk.com
Orbital Atk, Inc. (delisted) (NYSE:OA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Orbital Atk, Inc. (delisted) (NYSE:OA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024