Page 42 - Materials Australia - April 2019

FEATURE – Additive Manufacturing
Amaero Engineering and
Monash University
Producing components for the world’s first 3D-printed jet engine has certainly put Monash University and its spin-off, Amaero Engineering, on the world stage.
The engine, shown at the 2015 Australian International Airshow, is the product of a SIEF-funded collaboration between Amaero, Monash University, CSIRO, Deakin University and Microturbo of the SAFRAN Group.
It has captured the attention of major international aerospace players, including Safran, Boeing and defence contractor Raytheon, who are now travelling halfway around the world to access Amaero’s laser-based additive manufacturing (3D printing) expertise.
Having successfully manufactured the world’s first additively manufactured jet engine, Amaero approached a team of Monash engineering PhD students in 2017 with a challenge to design a rocket engine that would fully utilise the near limitless geometric complexity of additive manufacturing.
“We were able to focus on the
features that boost the engine’s performance, including the nozzle geometry and the embedded cooling network. These are normally balanced against the need to consider how on earth someone is going to manufacture such a complex piece of equipment. Not so with additive manufacturing,” said
Demonstrating the intricacy possible with metallic 3D printing. Credit: Science in Public.
Printed jet engine. Credit: Science in Public.
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Graham Bell, the project lead.
The unique aerospike design offers some unique advantages over its more conventional counterparts.
“Traditional bell-shaped rockets, as seen on the Space Shuttle, work at peak efficiency at ground level. As they climb the flame spreads out reducing thrust. The aerospike design maintains its efficiency but is very hard to build using traditional technology,” said Marten Jurg, an engineer with Amaero.
“Using additive manufacturing we can create complex designs, print them, test them, tweak them, and reprint them in days instead of months.”
The engine is a complex multi-chamber
aerospike design additively manufactured with selective laser melting on an EOS M280. It was built from Hasteloy X; a high strength nickel based superalloy, and is fueled by compressed natural gas (methane), with compressed oxygen in use as the oxidizer. The rockets have a design thrust of 4kN or approximately 1,000 pounds. This is enough to hover the equivalent of five people (around 400kg).
The Melbourne-based, privately held company was created in 2013 as the commercial arm of Monash University’s Centre for Additive Manufacturing (MCAM). It is well-positioned to lead the way in 3D printing of metallic components, with a capability to provide both commercial production and research.