Application of niobium C103 alloy

Extensive investigation of the documented applications of niobium alloys reveals that they are now mainly used in rocket propulsion. With few exceptions, niobium alloy applications include shields for extended combustion chambers of high-thrust engines, combustion chambers, extended shields for engines controlled by radiation-cooled orbital entry or apogean, and small vector or attitude control nozzles. Niobium alloy engines typically use dual fuels (monomethyl fibular and nitrogen tetroxide), supergasoline (ignition contacts in the combustion chamber), and can be recycled multiple times. Large, propulsion and lift engines can be recycled for cooling, but they are too heavy for the cooling system to support the weight; They have since been made of steel or nickel-based alloys or even copper rice. Due to the secrecy of early development, it is difficult to know the composition of the niobium alloys first used. The first heat-resistant metal nozzle was made of Ta10W, circa 1958-1959 and continued into 1960-1961. It was a secret project; The first niobium parts, which may have appeared in the early 1960s, are also secret.

In 1963, a local news publication published the construction of niobium alloys for large ring-shaped wings for rockets, possibly for lunar module (LEM) shields. Other applications reported in 1967 were LEM shields and descent shock bumpers. The niobium C103 alloy was also used in the Titan C-III nozzle expansion conversion device. One of the largest devices ever made of niobium (C103) was the nozzle amplifier for the Apollo spacecraft engines, which was welded from niobium C103 sheet and tubes and reinforced with C129Y beams. The amplifiers for LEM and liquid rocket nozzles are also made of energy alloy C103.

A related but slightly different application is vector manifold system valve bodies and associated components made of C103 saw alloy for sea-based or intercontinental missiles. The manifold system of the reentry device is coupled with a C103 niobium alloy reducer. To date, the only application of niobium alloy in jet engines is the use of coated C103 alloy plates in the rear burners of the F100 engine on the Fl5.

The use of niobium alloy in long-life turbojet engines is not promising because of the reliability of the coating and the difficulty of inspecting the internal components. In the late 1960s and early 1970s there was a revival in niobium alloy research as creep-resistant materials with acceptable room temperature plasticity were used in turbine engines.