Through small business funds, Sierra has worked with NASA (MSFC, GRC, and JSC), USAF, MDA (Missile Defense Agency), and OSD (Office of the Secretary of Defense) on propulsion technology. A partial list of current and past programs is provided below:
Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) |
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Advanced Materials and Cooling Schemes for Rocket Engine Combustion Chambers,
SBIR Phase I & II. Purpose: Further the development of transpiration cooling materials, technology, and performance. |
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High Aspect Ratio Coolant Channels for Regeneratively Cooled
Combustion Chambers (HARCC), SBIR Phase I Purpose: Utilize CFD analysis to solve 3-D fluid dynamics and conjugate heat transfer within the cooling channels at a variety of cooling passage aspect ratios and coolant conditions. Design an experimental facility to test different aspect ratios. |
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5KThrust Chamber Assembly Design and
Analysis, SBIR (HARCC) Phase II. Purpose: Design and fabricate a TCA with ablative and an instrumented heat sink combustion chamber to evaluate dual point RP-1 film cooling for combustion chamber cooling. |
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Propulsion Analysis and computational fluid
dynamics tools on the internet (ROCKETWEBSM), SBIR Phase I and II. Purpose: Allow engineers to access propulsion analysis tools and computational servers through the internet. |
Missile Defense Agency |
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PERCORP Enhancement For Improved Soot Modeling, Phase I & II. Purpose: Improve the accuracy and usability of existing engineering tools for plume signature generation by incorporating state-of-the-art soot modeling. |
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Application of
Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Optimization to Plume
Signature Analysis, SBIR Phase I. Purpose: Using RSM and Optimization techniques, match current analysis software to existing data. |
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Compact, Transportable JP-8 Reformer, Phase I. Purpose: Develop a compact, transportable JP-8 reformer system design. |
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Thermal Decomposer for Peroxide, STTR Phase I & II. Purpose: Determine the test conditions and peroxide concentrations required to initiate and sustain thermal decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide. |
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Emission Reduction Through Chemical Kinetic Modeling of Real
Engine Effects (REE), SBIR Phase I & II. Purpose: 1) Develop a combustor, including a new injector element, to test alternative hydrocarbon fuels; 2) creating a rocket plume near field diagnostic instrument to study mixing within the combustor; 3) tailoring a plume signature to meet predetermined infrared intensity requirements; and 4) improving combustion analysis techniques using three-dimensional (3D) computation fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses and analytical analyses. |
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Triaxial Swirler Liquid Injector Development,
Phase I & II. Purpose: 1) Demonstrate the operating characteristics of the tri-axial swirl injector at a modest scale through hardware design, fabrication, and test; 2) show adequate analytical tools for the design, and subsequent scale-up, of tri-axial swirl injectors by anchoring analytical and CFD analyses; and 3) develop conceptual design of a large-scale tri-axial swirl injector, for a possible Phase III testing program. |
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Rocket Combustor Validation Data for
Advanced Combustion Models, STTR, Phase I. Purpose: Collection of hot-fire test data for CFD model validation on dual point RP-1 fuel film cooling. |
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Non-Axisymmetric Infrared Plume Tomography for Rocket Plume
Species and Temperature Distribution, STTR Phase I. Purpose: Develop IR tomographic reconstruction capability for emission absorption plume measurements. |
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Sierra Diagnostic System
(SDS): Plume Diagnostics for Combustion Stability, STTR Phase I. Purpose: Collect plume test data to characterize the stability of the combustion process. |
Office of the Secretary of Defense |
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Longitudinal Stability Testing (LST): Advanced Injector
Designs for Hydrocarbon Liquid Rocket Engine Components, SBIR
Phase I & II. Purpose: Design, build, and test a hot fire device that tests, characterizes, and screens new injection elements |