College students at Queen’s College Belfast have developed what they describe as Eire’s first student-built liquid rocket engine. The Kelvin Mk.1, named after Belfast-born physicist Lord Kelvin, was created by the Queen’s Propulsion Laboratory (QPL) in partnership with manufacturing firm LPE. The engine’s chamber was produced utilizing steel 3D printing know-how at LPE’s Belfast facility.
QPL, based in 2023, operates as Northern Eire’s largest scholar rocketry workforce. The liquid rocket engine runs on isopropyl alcohol and nitrous oxide propellants. The workforce plans to conduct sizzling fireplace testing in July 2025 as a part of the UK’s Race2Space nationwide propulsion competitors.
The engine chamber was manufactured utilizing Direct Steel Laser Sintering (DMLS) in AlSi10Mg aluminum. LPE labored with the scholar workforce to optimize the design for 3D printing manufacturing. The element contains built-in inner cooling channels and was printed as a single piece to get rid of welded joints that might create stress factors.
“Additive manufacturing was the fitting resolution for this engine, not only for its complexity, however as a result of it enabled pace, precision, and efficiency in a single course of,” stated Patrick Partitions, Engineering Director at LPE. The QPL workforce cited design flexibility, shorter lead occasions, and half discount as key elements in selecting steel 3D printing over conventional manufacturing strategies.
The completed chamber underwent post-processing together with depowdering, warmth therapy, and floor ending to satisfy aerospace necessities. QPL reported that chilly circulate exams confirmed constant efficiency and that the chamber’s floor end exceeded their expectations. The workforce will check the engine at Westcott Area Cluster on July 10, 2025.
Supply: laserproto.com