20241030 Statement of Work TEAM rocket Detwiler.pdf
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- Attached to
- Ceramic matrix composite material/components
- Solicitation number
- SS-AFRL-PZLEQ-2025-0002
About this file
This document is a Statement of Work (SOW) for a federal contract opportunity related to the development of high-temperature resistant ceramic composite materials and components for use in Rotating Detonation Rocket Engines (RDREs). The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is seeking a contractor to produce and test three ceramic composite panels and four inner-body components that can withstand the extreme conditions of RDRE environments, including temperatures up to 5,840°F and pressures up to 255 psi, with no active cooling. The contractor will work with AFRL to down-select the optimal material composition based on mechanical, oxidation, and cost-performance testing. The related federal contract opportunity is a Sources Sought notice under NAICS code 541715, with responses due by November 22, 2024. This notice is not a solicitation and does not commit the government to awarding a contract.
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CUI
Distribution C. Distribution authorized to U.S. Government agencies and their contractors [CTI] [August 2024]. Other requests for this document must be referred to [AFRL/RXNC].
Statement of Work // Minimum Requirements Document
TEAM Rocket
Background and Scope:
Rotating detonation rocket engines (RDREs) are emerging as an enabling propulsion technology for the US Space Force. RDREs operate via detonation-based combustion in contrast to conventional deflagration-based engines; detonation – a travelling flame-shock complex – burns propellants at faster rates than in deflagration alone and produces stagnation pressure-gains which are converted to thrust for the system. As a result, RDRE combustor sizes can be smaller than conventional rocket engines with a potential 10% increase in efficiency due to the pressure-gain thermodynamic cycle.
Limited work has been completed on materials development specifically for RDREs, illuminating a need for increased materials-focused efforts that will enable RDREs to be utilized by the DAF and SF.
The detonation process in RDREs results in extremely high gas temperatures and pressures. The contractor will provide materials with potential to survive in the RDRE environment with no active cooling. The components need to survive the combustion environment which reaches gas phase temperatures of (1600-3500K/2420-5840°F) and gas phase pressures (1.9-17.6 bar/27.5-255psi).
Requirements:
The contractor with work with the AFRL/RXN team to produce high-temperature resistant material coupons and components that will work with the RDRE. Requirements include:
- Survivability of materials for at least 10 minutes in RDRE-relevant conditions with no active cooling.
- Materials must be shape stable in RDRE-relevant conditions with no active cooling.
- Demonstration of prior success in detonation engine environmental testing.
- Utilize scalable processing/manufacturing techniques, such as, but not limited to, polymer infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP), chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or other infiltration methods for composites.
The following actions will take place:
- The contractor will produce (3) ceramic composite panels for mechanical (tension and interlaminar tension) and oxidative testing. Panels will be tested by AFRL/RX.
- AFRL/RX will test the coupons in-house and provide data back to the contractor for down-selection of materials.
CUI
Distribution C. Distribution authorized to U.S. Government agencies and their contractors [CTI] [August 2024]. Other requests for this document must be referred to [AFRL/RXNC].
- A cost-performance analysis by the contractor will be made for down-selection of the final material composition.
- The contractor will fabricate (4) inner-body components to be tested.
- AFRL/RX will complete pre-test analysis of the components, potentially including blue light scanning and X-ray CT.
- The components will be tested at AFRL/RQ at Edwards AFB.
- AFRL/RX will complete post-test analysis.
Product Description:
Produce (3) ceramic composite panels of varying compositions made to withstand the RDRE environment. These panels will be cut into coupons for mechanical and oxidation testing. Ship the coupons to AFRL/RX for testing.
Inner-body component material selection will be made based off of testing performance. (4) Inner-body components will be produced. Ship the components to AFRL/RX for pre-test analysis.
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