A review of flaws and damage in space launch vehicles: Motors and engines

Rocket engines are complex systems which usually operate under extreme physical conditions such as very high temperature and pressure, strong erosion, and high-density energy release. Mechanical and chemical complexity, long service lives, aging materials, and designs with small margins of safety are typical for space launch vehicle components including the engine. Furthermore, these components can be exposed to various flaws and damage during the manufacturing, assembly, or ground handling phase. In regard to the engine, its performance characteristics can be significantly affected by the degradation resulting from such flaws and damages, which, in turn, might lead to failure of the entire space mission. Any manufacturing/operational damage needs to be detected at the earliest stage possible, so that the required preventive measures can be implemented, and component readiness and reliability must be checked either during manufacturing or during field inspections. This review study lists such possible flaws/damages on rocket engine components. This information could be beneficial for determining and developing the efficient techniques for reliable nondestructive evaluation and structural health monitoring.

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