Chemical Vapor Deposition of ZrC Coatings for Space Nuclear Propulsion

Eddie Lopez-Honorato, Tyler Gerczak, Ryan Heldt, Peter Doyle, Will Cureton, Grant Helmreich, John Hunn

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

In this work, ZrC coatings were produced via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using Zr, Cl2, CH4, and H2 as precursors. Fluidized-bed CVD (FBCVD) was used to coat 500 µm HfO2 and 250 µm WC particles, and low-pressure CVD (LPCVD) was used to coat cylindrical graphite surrogates. This study demonstrated that uniform, well-adhered, nearly stoichiometric ZrC coatings can be produced through this technique. This paper discusses the challenges associated with the production of these coatings on particles and static substrates and describes some of the work performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to develop ZrC coatings for Space Nuclear Propulsion (SNP).

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, NETS 2023
PublisherAmerican Nuclear Society
Pages148-151
Number of pages4
ISBN (Electronic)9780894487903
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023
Event2023 Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, NETS 2023 - Idaho Falls, United States
Duration: May 7 2023May 11 2023

Publication series

NameProceedings of Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, NETS 2023

Conference

Conference2023 Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, NETS 2023
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityIdaho Falls
Period05/7/2305/11/23

Funding

This work was supported by NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate through the SNP project.

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