Tech Briefs Magazine - August 2022 - 48

APPLICATION
BRIEFS
Advancing Aerospike Technology
Through Algorithmic Engineering
Hyperganic
Munich, Germany
www.hyperganic.com
EOS
Krailling, Germany
www.eos.info/en
I
n May 2022, Hyperganic built the world's largest 3D-printed
Aerospike rocket engine. It's also the most complex 3D-printed
object to date. Standing at 80 cm tall and printed from copper
on an AMCM machine, it's the first algorithmically engineered
rocket engine, designed entirely using the Hyperganic
Core software platform.
The Aerospike rocket engine concept is not new by any
means and has been around since the 1960s and 1970s. From a
theoretical perspective, the engine is renowned for its altitude-compensating
concept, which promises a performance
advantage of up to 20 percent over traditional bell nozzles
during atmospheric ascent.
With that goal in mind, prototypes were built by Rocketdyne
and NASA, but never left the test stands. The Space Shuttle was
originally meant to have an Aerospike to unlock Single-Stage-ToOrbit
(SSTO) capabilities. But that never happened as the engineers
could not overcome the inherent challenges of the Aerospike
concept, given traditional design and manufacturing
methods. For example, the central spike that facilitates the supersonic
exhaust gas expansion is prone to overheating and
melt-down if not cooled sufficiently. While the Aerospike's compact
design makes it ideal for small, orbital launchers, it also increases
the heat load significantly.
Advanced 3D-printing methods have made it possible to incorporate
regenerative cooling channels directly into the manufactured
part. Some New Space startups, like Pangea Aerospace, are
already metal 3D printing and testing prototypes. However, the
full potential of additive manufacturing (AM) and its design
freedom has not been unlocked, and Hyperganic intends to
change that with its Algorithmic Engineering paradigm.
Algorithmic Engineering uses computer code to create physical
objects algorithmically and automatically. One can think of
the algorithms as step-by-step instructions for a computer to
mimic what an engineer would do. The difference is that computers
are scalable with computational power and can work tirelessly
to resolve a problem to a level of detail that a human engineer
could not achieve. The goal is to accelerate innovation in
physical products in the same way that Moore's Law of exponential
growth fuelled innovation in the computer industry.
As the algorithmically engineered objects can evolve to highly
complex designs, the technology works hand-in-hand with AM
methods. Ideally, the algorithms are informed by the 3D printer's
constraints, and can never generate a part that is not manufacturable
on that machine.
48
Algorithmic Engineering speeds up the iteration cycles to seconds
or minutes, rather than the weeks or months that engineers
typically experience. That advantage allows engineers to
free up the time spent on manual, laborious CAD drawings to
explore a much larger solution space and focus on system level
optimizations. The fast iteration cycles also spark technical innovations
since it gives them more room to explore different configurations
and learn quickly from mistakes.
Unlike traditional CAD applications, an engineer using Hyperganic
Core encodes his or her knowledge of the design process
into computer algorithms. The Aerospike engines were generated
through the same algorithm but with different input
parameters in order to conform to different specifications. Each
physical component within the engine is represented by a code
module. The software and physical architecture are similar.
Multiple combustion chambers enable thrust-vectoring. The chambers'
cross-sectional areas are driven by a desired Mach number distribution
and calculated through the isentropic flow conditions.
The engine was printed on the EOS M 400-4 industrial 3D printer with
zero support using the EOS NickelAlloy IN718 process.
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Tech Briefs, August 2022
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Tech Briefs Magazine - August 2022

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