GRCop-84 Scaled Up for Production

Abstract

GRCop-84 (Cu-8 at.% Cr-4 at.% Nb) was developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center for use in regeneratively cooled rocket engine main combustion chamber liners. The alloy has demonstrated high elevated-temperature strength, excellent creep resistance, long low-cycle-fatigue lives, low thermal expansion, and good thermal conductivity on a laboratory scale. The combination of properties has led to interest from the Rocketdyne Division of Boeing, Aerojet, and Pratt & Whitney for their new engines. Under the Space Launch Initiative/Next Generation Launch Technology program, GRCop-84 is being taken out of the laboratory and put into a full-scale production environment.