The test campaign of the DEMO0A, within the HYPROB project – Demonstrators line, has been successfully completed at the FAST2 – AVIO (Colleferro) test facility.
The DEMO0A is a regenerative thrust chamber based on oxygen and methane (LOX/CH4) propellants (thrust class 30 kN). The DEMO0A was designed and built by CIRA (Italian Aerospace Research Centre), with the collaboration of cutting-edge Italian SMEs, in order to introduce state-of-the-art technological innovations for the sector.
In particular, thanks to a cooperation with CECOM srl, a nickel and copper electroforming technology has been developed for the realization of the cooling circuit of the regenerative combustion chamber. This technology, before the final fire test, has passed various phases of technological verification and characterization, as the injection plate of the DEMO0A, subjected in recent years to various tests for performance evaluation.
The tests of these days have demonstrated the validity of the design and of the technologies developed and will provide important experimental data useful for the consolidation and optimization of the design and analysis models developed by CIRA for this type of thrust chambers.
During the tests, also carried out thanks to the cooperation and expertise of the AVIO team, the DEMO0A TCA reached a maximum pressure of about 48 bar for 15 seconds. The data, still being processed, will soon be presented to the Italian Ministry of University and Research.
These tests, which confirm the completion of a fundamental phase for the entire project, represent a significant milestone for CIRA research activity in LOX/LCH4 rocket propulsion consolidating its heritage in this field.
Follow us on our Telegram channel