How are rocket nozzles made??
Is it a huge chunk of metal that they cut down or is it a "pipe" that they reshape?
Or something else??
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$\begingroup$ If the nozzle needs very effective cooling to resist the heat, you need a technique to include the cooling chanells. $\endgroup$– UweCommented Jun 17, 2017 at 21:27
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2$\begingroup$ Actually, I'm quite curious about the bell alone, especially in the largest engines. Welds would be weak points, but making a monolithic piece of that size, shape and precision would be a serious challenge, be it rolled/stamped or machined, or cast. Yeah, cooling pipes would be added at a later stage and SpaceX just prints the whole thing, but what about things like F-1 bell nozzles? $\endgroup$– SF.Commented Jun 17, 2017 at 23:35
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1 Answer
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There are many kinds of nozzles, and many ways to manufacture them. Here is a sampling.
Actively cooled nozzles such as the the SSME and F-1 nozzles were constructed by fabricating the individual tubes that made up the cooling channels (1080 tubes in the case of the SSME) and brazing them together in an autoclave. Nozzle fabrication was one of the pacing items in building an SSME; at one time I was told it took over a year to complete one nozzle.
Modern actively-cooled engine nozzles may be constructed using channel-wall technology pioneered in Russia.
Radiatively cooled nozzles such as the shuttle OMS engines (which have been cannibalized to use on the Orion service module) are formed of high temperature metals such as columbium or niobium. They may be welded or spinformed.
This Merlin vacuum nozzle is clearly welded together.
Nozzles may also be made of composite materials, such as the STS Solid Rocket Booster nozzles. They were built up of phenolic wraps and included a flexible bearing for thrust vector control.
Cold gas thruster nozzles may be manufactured of more common materials (stainless steel) using normal manufacturing techniques.
Your question covers a great deal of territory. I have tried to give you a general idea of the range of materials and techniques used to manufacture nozzles.
answered Jun 18, 2017 at 1:27
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1$\begingroup$ I know no more about that one than I did in Nov 2016. $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 18, 2017 at 1:49
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1$\begingroup$ CNC machining, lathes, etc. $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 18, 2017 at 12:36
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1$\begingroup$ There is another method, build the inner wall of the nozzle from copper, mill all cooling channels using CNC, fill the channels with an electrical conducting wax, build the outer wall by electrolytic deposition of nickel and remove the wax by heating. A very elegant method combining different metalls, copper for best thermal conductivity inside and nickel for mechanical stability outside. No difficult welding of a lot of tubes necessary. $\endgroup$– UweCommented Jun 18, 2017 at 17:05
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1$\begingroup$ "A key innovation in regenerative cooling was the Soviet U-1250 engine designed by Aleksei Mihailovich Isaev in 1945. Its combustion chamber was lined with a thin copper sheet supported by the corrugated steel wall of the chamber. Fuel flowed through the corrugations and absorbed heat very efficiently. " (wikipedia) Note: 1945 $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 18, 2017 at 18:44