MAT602 – Material Selection in Design

Material Selection for a Rocket Fuel Tank

Group 27

Group Members
Pouya Shafaeinahand - 200808415
Beatriz Machado – 200432807
Jeshurun Jeyason – 200382041
Hussain Abo-Ragheef – 190866316
Luqman Tamim - 190304117
Sihao Yang - 200428659
Mathila Keshan Madurapperuma - 200334279

1
Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3
Design and Material Constraints ............................................................................................................. 3
Material Performance Index .................................................................................................................... 3
Suitable Materials.................................................................................................................................... 4
Carbon fibre Reinforced Plastic – Epoxy SMC (55% long carbon fibre ................................................................... 4
Aluminium Lithium alloy – A2195-T8: .................................................................................................................. 4
Titanium Alloy Ti-6Al-4V: ................................................................................................................................. 4
Stainless Steel 304L: ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Materials for Insulation Layer .............................................................................................................................. 5
Material Property Comparison................................................................................................................. 5
Manufacturing and Processing of Materials ............................................................................................ 6
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 6
Appendix ................................................................................................................................................. 7
References ............................................................................................................................................... 8

2
Introduction
This project aims to be able to identify the optimal materials needed, to create a reusable rocket fuel tank. In order to
make sure that the fuel tank can be reused, there are a specific list of requirements that it must adhere to. These being:
Manufacturing (easy to create and maintain), cost, strength, thermal properties, and the general properties such as being
compatible with the fuel.
It is vital that propellant tanks must be able to withstand the pressures of going to high altitude without deforming; they
must not leak, and they must be reliable, safe, and unreactive when the fuel is put in. The dimensions are also very
important due to the large amounts of liquid propellent needed. Since fuel tanks are normally ejected and rebuilt for
every mission, and this report is about creating a reusable fuel tank, it was important that the sustainability of the
materials that were chosen to be taken as a priority.

Design and Material Constraints

The rocket fuel tanks have been designed to have two layers. The inner layer will be an insulation layer and the other
layer will provide the tank with its strength. The first part of this section will focus on the outer layer first.
Due to the nature of this application, weight is designed to be minimised. The material needs to be chemically compatible
with the propellant material so that no reactions take place, damaging the walls and creating segment which could block
entries into the combustion chamber. The material must also not lose its mechanical properties at the storage temperature
for the fuels.
Some of the essential conditions the rocket must meet is supporting the high internal pressure and remaining ductile at
the low temperature of -273. For a rocket tank to be reusable, the material will have to have resistance to crack growth
and fatigue. The table below shows the complete material requirements for this application.

Material Constraints/Requirements

General Properties Lightweight (low density)

Chemical Properties Chemically compatible with the fuel being used.
(Liquid Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen).
Thermal Properties Thermal shock, Service Temperature of –252.8 °C for
cryogenic fuels, large temp variation.
Low thermal conductivity (get a value for this)
Mechanical Properties High yield Strength. Operating pressure is 202kPa
Fatigue
Fracture toughness
(All to withstand the pressure)
Dimensions Height = 46.9m Diameter = 8.4m
Manufacturing Requirements Not very expensive.
Available in large quantities for manufacturing. Must
be able to be fabricated into large structures
Table 1: Collection of all the Requirements for the Outer Layer Material

Material Performance Index

We assumed the fuel tank side walls to be shell walls to use the material indexes found. To minimise weight, 2
material indexes were found with stiffness and yield strength as constraints (Ashby, 2013).
!#
𝑀! = 𝐸 " /ρ

Where E is the young’s modulus and ρ is the density.

3
 𝑀" = 𝜎$ !/" /ρ

These were used in the graphs in the appendix to find suitable materials. The results for these material indexes are
found in Table 2 in the Material Property Comparison section.

Suitable Materials
Carbon fibre Reinforced Plastic – Epoxy SMC (55% long carbon fibre
CFRP is a suitable material to use, mainly due to its lightweight quality. By being lightweight the launch costs of the
aircraft are reduced as the total weight of the tanks, aircraft and general components will be lighter. Additionally, fewer
parts are needed to manufacture the fuel tank, reducing manufacturing costs (Tomaswick, 2021).
CFRP stores hydrogen quite well making it leak-proof so metal liners for example are not needed to contain the liquid
gas. According to MT Aerospace, a German aerospace company, a CFRP tank was tested and could withstand cryogenic
temperatures of up to -253˚C (Schultz, 2021). Unfortunately, CFRP is not a sustainable material as the material is not
biodegradable and cannot be melted down to be recycled and reused. The material is also not the best for the environment
as, a lot of energy is used in the production stages compared to metals.

Aluminium Lithium alloy – A2195-T8:

The material grade A2195 was developed by private companies and NASA to combat the challenges faced with an
Aluminium copper alloy. The material was found to withstand cryogenic temperatures and so was a perfect
application for the external fuel tank. The use of the material saved NASA around 2700kg of payload mass compared
to the previous Aluminium-Copper alloy and is one of the many reasons it is used on the Falcon 9. Ultimately the use
of the A2195 reduces the weight of the aircraft improving fuel economy and reducing costs (Svendsen, 2019).
The alloy has a lower density than other alloys used by NASA and provides an increased Young’s modulus making it a
desirable material on the external fuel tank. Ultimately, the use of the A2195 provides a fixed structure and its low
weight attribute reduces the weight of the aircraft improving fuel economy and reducing costs. Aluminium lithium is
quite sustainable as, the metal can be recycled many times and utilised to produce other products. By recycling
aluminium lithium, we are not only saving the resources of the earth but, recycling the material can save around 95% of
energy compared to its production from raw aluminium lithium (ASM Metal Recycling, 2021).

Titanium Alloy Ti-6Al-4V:

This grade of titanium is used in various parts of aviation, such as propellent tanks made by EADS Astrium GmbH. The
most common shape for fuel tanks made from this material are cylindrical or spherical.
The material has extreme strength, as well as a very high corrosion resistance, the material is heat treatable and can be
welded easily. This allows for any desired shape of the fuel tanks to be created easily, thus reducing manufacturing
costs, also has a maximum service temperature of 420℃. The lightweight nature of the material however means it has a
low modulus of elasticity, which could mean that a fuel tank made from this alloy will not last that long it will start to
stretch as the forces begin to pull on the tank. This would mean that it would deform and become unusable quicker than
other materials. This would be less environmentally friendly as there would have to be more constant manufacturing to
keep replacing these fuel tanks.

Stainless Steel 304L:

This is a very common variant of stainless steel to use as it is capable of still being in service at 925℃, so, there is a
large window for it to be working in. As well as this, it has very good corrosion resistance, and since stress corrosion
can cause cracking, it means that the material is more reliable, especially in the high demanding conditions of a rocket
fuel tank. Stainless stell 304L was also used in the Spica rocket, made by Copenhagen Suborbitals. They chose
to use stainless steel instead of the other common materials because they found it to remain ductile at cryogenic
temperatures, as well as it is very forgiving. It is very easy to weld and is very affordable. Stainless steel is
also very good at deformation hardening, much more than when compared to things such as aluminium. The
material also allowed the walls of fuel tank to be as thin as 2mm but still allow it to not rupture until around
96bar.

4
Materials for Insulation Layer
The major material constraints for the insulation layer include low thermal conductivity (M < 0.1 W/m K) and low
density. After analysing several materials, Carbon Foam was chosen to be the insulation layer material because of its
low density and excellent thermal insulation. It also is relatively cheap compared to other options in the field like
Silica Aerogel.

Material Properties Thermal Density Minimum Maximum Price

Conductivity in [kg/m3] Service Service [GBP/kg]
Air [W/m K] Temperature Temperature
[°C] [°C]
Silica Aerogel (HTMS) 0.016 2200 -273 3000 42650
Polyurethane Foam 0.0265 24 -93 77 5.21
Carbon Foam 0.0335 50 -273 315 17.55
(reticulated, vitreous)
(0.05)
Graphite Foam (0.12) 0.135 125 -273 2580 17.55
Table 2: Suitable Materials for the Insulation Layer with values from Edu Pack unless otherwise stated

Material Property Comparison

Below is a decision matrix which is used to compare the material properties of the selected materials we have gone with
to manufacture a rocket fuel tank.

Material Properties CFRP Aluminium Titanium Stainless Steel (304L)

Lithium Alloy (Ti-
Alloy 6Al-4v)
(A2195-T8)
Price [GBP/kg] 30.9 1.85 19.2 2.3
Density [ kg/m^3] 1470 2855 4425 7905

Thermal shock resistance 1003 152 1028 61.15

[°C]

Tolerant to cryogenic Unacceptable Excellent Excellent Excellent

temperatures

Operating temperature [°C] -123 -273 -273 -200

Yield Strength [MPa] 250 549 549 205
Fatigue [MPa] 104.85 103 103 303.5
Fracture toughness [kJ/m^2] 5.3 32.95 91 62
Young’s Modulus [GPa] 57.85 73.85 115 198

𝑀! (3.s.f) 164 95.2 76.6 56.3

𝑀" (3.s.f) 10.8 8.21 5.30 1.81

Table 3: Material Properties and Results of Performance Indexes

5
When comparing the performance values for all the suitable materials, CFRP had the greatest value for both 𝑀! and
𝑀" , however due to being highly expensive and hard to manufacture, A2195-T8 with second highest values for both
performance indexes was chosen as our optimal material.
When comparing the cost per unit mass aluminium-lithium alloys are cheaper in comparison to CFRP (Carbon fibre
reinforced plastic). Aluminium-lithium alloys also rank highly in density, thermal shock resistance, and operating
temperature. It is acceptable in terms of tolerance to cryogenic temperatures, which is very important for rocket fuel
tanks. In summary, aluminium-lithium alloys, especially A2195-T8, ranks highly in terms of important material
properties, ensuring that it is as lightweight as possible, and can be used successfully as a rocket fuel tank.

Manufacturing and Processing of Materials

One of the main processes currently being used in manufacturing for aluminium-lithium alloys is friction stir welding.
Friction stir welding is a part of a larger category known as additive manufacturing, which is an increasingly popular
technique due to its applications in manufacturing for lightweight alloys (Zhao et al., 2019). Additive manufacturing
uses software to scan materials such as metals, and then prints them one layer at a time using machinery (Shen et al.,
2022).
Applying friction stir welding to aluminium-lithium alloys greatly improves their mechanical performance; it improves
the overall stiffness, and reduces weight (Yang et al., 2022). Reducing weight is beneficial for fuel tank performance as
less fuel will be consumed as a result (Shah and Tosunoglu, 2012). Friction stir welding produces less distortion and is
more environmentally friendly in comparison to other manufacturing methods as it uses a smaller amount of energy
during processing. Also, compared to other welding processes such as fusion welding, friction stir welding causes less
defects to occur (Yang et al., 2022). Aluminium-lithium alloys also must undergo other processing techniques such as
extrusion, heat treating, casting, and cold working, which help to form the material and improve its properties (Dorin et
al., 2018). Heat treating, for example, is used for aluminium-lithium alloys as it can decrease cracking. Heat treatment
is especially important for rocket fuel tanks as it ensures that the material can be used to form large structures, whereas
without the treatment, this wouldn’t be possible.
For the other materials, other additive manufacturing techniques are used, such as electron beam welding for titanium
alloys (Brassington and Colegrove, 2017). However, it is much more expensive and takes longer when compared to
friction stir welding (Brassington and Colegrove, 2017). Automated tape placement is used to manufacture carbon fibre
reinforced plastics (CFRP), although this is more suitable to manufacture large structures, many types of defects can be
found which have significant effects on the mechanical properties of the material (Muramatsu et al., 2016; Potter et al.,
2008; Mehdikhani et al., 2019). These defects include void content, misalignment, and poor fibre distribution in the
matrix. Another additive manufacturing technique, directed energy deposition, is used to manufacture stainless steel.
Stainless steel materials that have undergone directed energy deposition often have better material properties such as a
higher tensile strength, and a higher yield strength (Wang et al., 2016). However, the impacts of directed energy
deposition on the corrosion resistance of stainless steel aren’t properly known, and so this could be a risk (Melia et al.,
2019).

Conclusion
In conclusion, the most suitable material for this reusable rocket fuel tank is the Aluminium-Lithium Alloy grade A2195.
This is due to the large amounts of readily available research on the material since this was the material of choice for
many rockets fuel tanks over the years. When compared to the other suitable materials, the Aluminium alloy showed
with its superior price and value for money, and its well-rounded fracture toughness, that it is the best all round choice
when trying to find the optimum material for this particular problem. The manufacturing process for this (friction stir
welding) is also an advantage as it is environmentally friendly as it produces less distortion. However, a few other
materials do use this same manufacturing process but since aluminium lithium alloy can undergo extrusion, heat treating,
and casting extremely well it shows that it has multiple different areas in which it can be best extracted and implemented
into the making of the fuel tanks.

6
Appendix
Yield strength against density

Figure 1- shows a Yield strength vs Density graph taken from the EDU pack software, showcasing the 4 suitable
materials chosen

Young’s modulus against density

Figure 2- shows a Young’s modulus vs Density graph taken from the EDU pack software, showcasing the 4 suitable
materials chosen

7
References
Ahn, D.G., 2021. Directed energy deposition (DED) process: state of the art. International Journal of
Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology, 8(2), pp.703-742.
Ashby F.M. (2013) Material Index, Material Index – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/material-index. (Accessed: November 19 2022)
ASM Metal Recycling (2021) Is aluminium environmentally friendly? the Green Metal, ASM Metal
Recycling. Available at: https://www.asm-recycling.co.uk/blog/why-is-aluminium-environmentally-friendly/
(Accessed: November 19, 2022).
Aerogel: Properties, price & application (2021) Material Properties. Available at: https://material-
properties.org/aerogel-properties-application-price/ (Accessed: November 19, 2022).
Brassington, W.D.P. and Colegrove, P.A., 2017. Alternative friction stir welding technology for titanium–
6Al–4V propellant tanks within the space industry. Science and Technology of Welding and Joining, 22(4),
pp.300-318.
Donough, M.J., St John, N.A., Philips, A.W. and Prusty, B.G., 2022. Process modelling of In-situ consolidated
thermoplastic composite by automated fibre placement–A review. Composites Part A: Applied Science and
Manufacturing, p.107179.
Dorin, T., Vahid, A. and Lamb, J., 2018. Aluminium lithium alloys. In Fundamentals of aluminium metallurgy
(pp. 387-438). Woodhead Publishing.
Doyle, K., Doyle, A., O Bradaigh, C.M. and Jaredson, D., 2012, March. Feasibility of carbon fiber/PEEK
composites for cryogenic fuel tank applications. In 12th European Conference on Spacecraft Structures,
Materials and Environmental Testing (Vol. 691, p. 95).
Es-Souni, M., Es-Souni, M. and Fischer-Brandies, H., 2002. On the properties of two binary NiTi shape
memory alloys. Effects of surface finish on the corrosion behaviour and in vitro biocompatibility.
Biomaterials, 23(14), pp.2887-2894.
Mehdikhani, M., Gorbatikh, L., Verpoest, I. and Lomov, S.V., 2019. Voids in fiber-reinforced polymer
composites: A review on their formation, characteristics, and effects on mechanical performance. Journal of
Composite Materials, 53(12), pp.1579-1669.
Melia, M.A., Nguyen, H.D.A., Rodelas, J.M. and Schindelholz, E.J., 2019. Corrosion properties of 304L
stainless steel made by directed energy deposition additive manufacturing. Corrosion Science, 152, pp.20-30.
Muramatsu, M., Nakasumi, S. and Harada, Y., 2016. Characterization of defects in carbon fiber-reinforced
plastics by inverse heat conduction analysis using transfer matrix between layers. Advanced Composite
Materials, 25(6), pp.541-555.
Potter, K., Khan, B., Wisnom, M., Bell, T. and Stevens, J., 2008. Variability, fibre waviness and misalignment
in the determination of the properties of composite materials and structures. Composites Part A: Applied
Science and Manufacturing, 39(9), pp.1343-1354.
Qiu, Y., Yang, H., Tong, L. and Wang, L., 2021. Research progress of cryogenic materials for storage and
transportation of liquid hydrogen. Metals, 11(7), p.1101.
Schultz, I. (2021) New lightweight rocket fuel tank ditches metal for carbon fibre and plastic, Gizmodo
Australia. Available at: https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2021/07/new-lightweight-rocket-fuel-tank-ditches-
metal-for-carbon-fibre-and-plastic/ (Accessed: November 16, 2022).
8
Shah, S. and Tosunoglu, S., 2012, July. Friction stir welding: current state of the art and future prospects. In
16th World multi-conference on systemics, cybernetics and informatics, Orlando, Florida (pp. 17-20).
Shen, Z., Chen, S., Cui, L., Li, D., Liu, X., Hou, W., Chen, H., Sun, Z. and Li, W.Y., 2022. Local
microstructure evolution and mechanical performance of friction stir additive manufactured 2195 Al-Li alloy.
Materials Characterization, 186, p.111818.
Stenfatt, M., 2021. The First Crowdfunded Astronaut. IEEE Spectrum, 58(12), pp.22-29.
Svendsen, A. (2019) Article: The evolution of constellium al-li alloys for space launch and crew module
applications, Light Metal Age Magazine. Available at: https://www.lightmetalage.com/news/industry-
news/aerospace/article-the-evolution-of-constellium-al-li-alloys-for-space-launch-and-crew-module-
applications/ (Accessed: November 17, 2022).
Silica aerogel (no date) High Tech Quality Materials and Machined Components. Available at:
https://www.hightechmaterialsolutions.com/silica-aerogel (Accessed: November 19, 2022).
Tomaswick, A. (2021) Lightweight carbon fiber reinforced plastic fuel tanks pass a critical test, and could
knock a lot of weight off a rocket's dry mass, Universe Today. Available at:
https://www.universetoday.com/152035/lightweight-carbon-fiber-reinforced-plastic-fuel-tanks-pass-a-
critical-test-and-could-knock-a-lot-of-weight-off-a-rockets-dry-mass/ (Accessed: November 16, 2022).
Wang, Y., Zhou, Y., Lin, L., Corker, J. and Fan, M., 2020. Overview of 3D additive manufacturing (AM) and
corresponding AM composites. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 139, p.106114.
Wang, Z., Palmer, T.A. and Beese, A.M., 2016. Effect of processing parameters on microstructure and tensile
properties of austenitic stainless steel 304L made by directed energy deposition additive manufacturing. Acta
Materialia, 110, pp.226-235.
Yang, Y., Bi, J., Liu, H., Li, Y., Li, M., Ao, S. and Luo, Z., 2022. Research progress on the microstructure
and mechanical properties of friction stir welded AlLi alloy joints. Journal of Manufacturing Processes, 82,
pp.230-244.
Zhang, P., Sun, R., Zhao, X. and Hu, L., 2015. Placement suitability criteria of composite tape for mould
surface in automated tape placement. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 28(5), pp.1574-1581.
Zhao, Z., Yang, X., Li, S. and Li, D., 2019. Interfacial bonding features of friction stir additive manufactured
build for 2195-T8 aluminum-lithium alloy. Journal of Manufacturing Processes, 38, pp.396-410.