Additive Manufactured Pressure Vessel Development: An Update

Researchers at Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) have been pursuing the application of additive manufacturing (AM) technology in pressure vessel manufacture for several years. We gained significant insight after the design, analysis, fabrication, and qualification of a 1.8 liter propellant tank with additive manufactured shell in 2017. A Space Propulsion 2018 summary paper titled Additive Manufactured Pressure Vessel Shell included a description of the research and its development progress as of May 2018. Importantly, the authors discussed several items for further examination, including developing a material data base, developing fracture inspection techniques, developing fracture data to facilitate fracture analyses, assessing consistency in material properties, and examining material shedding. In this summary paper, we review the continuing AM research and development (R&D) activities within NGIS and provide a progress update. The summary paper has three sections. Section 1 contains program background and a description of the evolving NGIS R&D program. In Section 2, we present a progress update. In Section 3, we conclude with a review of our vision towards the implementation of AM technology in space borne pressure vessel manufacture.