Graduate Student Seminar
March 29, 2024
10:00 a.m. ET
Doherty Hall 2210
Burn-resistant materials for oxygen-rich turbopumps
High-performance reusable rocket engines are essential to proposed low-cost heavy lift launch vehicles that will enable next generation launch economics. Current development efforts are focused on oxidizer-rich and full-flow staged combustion engines, which offer advantages in fuel efficiency. However, these engines subject materials to extreme operating conditions, involving cryogenic temperatures, extreme temperature swings, high heat fluxes, and ultra-high-pressure oxygen. These conditions give rise to a host of catastrophic failure modes, from oxidation-assisted fatigue to strain-ratcheting induced rupture to metal fires. The success of these new reusable propulsion systems thus depends on advances in the processing, design, and application of robust materials specifically tailored to withstand such extreme environments. In this talk, I will share initial insights from our investigation into the underlying mechanisms of frictional ignition, one of the failure modes of greatest concern in oxidizer-rich turbopumps and the root cause of several recent launch failures (Sea Launch’s NSS-8 and Orbital’s Orb-3). We have assessed the role of oxide tribolayer breakdown in frictional ignition using high-speed sliding experiments, post-mortem characterization of recovered specimens, continuum mechanics modeling of sliding contacts, and thermochemical calculations of the structure and stability of oxide tribolayers. Our results reveal why certain superalloys are intrinsically resistant ignition, suggesting approaches to alloy design for the high-pressure oxygen environments in ox-rich turbines.
Zack Cordero, Edgerton Career Development Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT
Zack Cordero is the Edgerton Career Development Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT where he leads the Aerospace Materials and Structures Laboratory. He received an BS in physics and a PhD in materials science and engineering from MIT. Prior to joining the MIT faculty, Zack held appointments as a postdoctoral fellow in the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and as an assistant professor in the Materials Science and NanoEngineering department at Rice University. Zack’s research at MIT integrates materials processing, mechanics of materials, and structural design to develop new materials and structures for launch vehicles and spacecraft.
Upcoming Events
-
February 20 2026
10:00 AM ET
Materials Science and Engineering
High-Fidelity Atomistic Simulations of Chemistry-Microstructure Interactions in Metals, presented by Rodrigo Freitas, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
CUC McConomy Auditorium
-
February 20 2026
5:30 PM - 9:30 PM ET
Highmark Center for Health, Wellness and Athletics (100 Tech St, Pittsburgh, PA 15213)
-
February 24 2026
12:00 PM ET
Materials Science and Engineering
"Modeling the Nonequilibrium Dynamics and Rheology of Associative Polymer Networks," presented by Songyue Liu
6142 Scott Hall
-
February 25 2026
2:00 PM ET
Faculty Insights with Mario Berges
Please join us for CMU Engineering's virtual program, “Faculty Insights: A 20 Minute Briefing.” In this series, faculty will share insights into their research, its impact, and provide perspective for the future of the field.
Virtual, link provided to registrants
-
February 27 2026
10:00 AM ET
Materials Science and Engineering
AI meets Peer Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, presented by Nihar Shah, Carnegie Mellon University
CUC McConomy Auditorium
-
March 13 2026
10:00 AM ET
Materials Science and Engineering
presented by Rachel Goldman, University of Michigan
CUC McConomy Auditorium