Feasibility Study on Neutron Diffraction Method for Evaluation of Residual Strain Distribution of Regenerative Cooled Combustion Chamber

The regenerative cooled combustion chamber of a cryogenic liquid rocket engine is exposed to a large temperature difference between the hot gas (about 3500K) and the liquid hydrogen (about 20K). This induces thermal stress, and strain is accumulated in the chamber wall throughout the cyclic firing tests. Evaluation of the stress and the strain distribution in a chamber wall is essential since chamber life is usually related to such stress and strain. In this study, the residual strain in a regenerative cooled combustion chamber wall was measured by applying the neutron diffraction method and the X-ray diffraction method. The measured data were compared with the numerical data by finite element analysis, and the feasibility of the neutron diffraction method for the regenerative cooled combustion chamber of a cryogenic liquid rocket engine was evaluated.