Compositex, Inc.

updated November 17, 2008

NEW Content: Compositex is developing a revolutionary new composite technology... details below.

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Welcome to the official homepage of Compositex, Inc.

Compositex, Inc. is small business located in Sandy, Utah, USA. We are dedicated to advancing the state of the art in composite structures, rocket propulsion systems, and aircraft technologies. Our main focus is on using innovative designs and efficient fabrication technologies to continually improve the value of the products and services that we offer to our customers. We have plans for substantial growth in the near future, but our paramount goal is delivering state-of-the-art performance and high reliability at affordable prices. Our technology development specialization areas include:

· High-performance filament-wound composite structures; Pressure vessels, solid rocket motorcases, and cryogenic propellant tanks.

· Ablative chambers and nozzles: Low-cost Silica/SiC/Carbon-Phenolic

· Rocket propulsion systems; Self-pressurizing liquid systems, altitude-compensating nozzles

· Aerodynamic innovations; Self-adjusting propellers, active circulation control, powered lift, flexible airfoils & controls.

We will always strive to adopt our customer’s perspective. Whether it's researching a new material, designing a filament-wound composite tank, developing a rocket propulsion system, or building & flying an experimental aircraft, Compositex, Inc. can get the job done more efficiently and for less money than you might imagine. Of course, talk is cheap, so we hope to have the opportunity to prove we're more than just talk. We know that the key to success is proving our technical excellence and dependability to our customers every day. Details about Compositex, Inc. products and services can be found by clicking here.

Propellant Tanks & Motorcases: Solid, liquid and hybrid (liquid & solid) rocket vehicles will perform at higher levels if they possess lightweight containers for their large pressurized volumes. So, it is no surprise that high performance filament-wound composite vessels have found an important niche market in these performance-critical applications. Shown above on the left is a metal-lined carbon/epoxy composite tank being wound on our computer-controlled filament winding machine. This tank is very lightweight and designed to contain cryogenic liquids under considerable internal pressure. Our first generation of metal-lined composite cryotanks achieved a PV/W (performance factor = burst pressure times internal volume divided by empty weight) of approximately 1,000,000 inches, which results in a tank empty weight that is less than half that of the highest performing metal tank. Our current composite cryotanks are achieving PV/W values of up to 1,700,000 inches. These tanks are compatible with liquid oxygen, methane and hydrogen. Our ongoing development work on composite cryogenic propellant tanks is being supported by both customer contracts and internal R&D funds. We also are continuing to develop filament-wound composite tanks for ambient temperature liquid propellants (kerosene, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, etc.) and highly compressed gases (helium, nitrogen, etc.) for various aerospace customers.

Solid rocket motorcases can be produced with similar performance levels, but we were not satisfied with that, which leads to the latest NEWS FLASH !!…. On September 30, 2008 Compositex was awarded an SBIR Phase II contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards AFB, California to further develop an innovative concept for an advanced motorcase and propellant tank technology that can theoretically deliver PV/W > 3,000,000 inches with existing, low-cost material technology. The Phase I SBIR contract was successfully completed in early 2008, and the results were very promising, leading AFRL to award a Phase II contract. This new filament-wound composite laminate technology will initially be applied to smaller motorcases (the first prototype is shown above on the right) with the intent of demonstrating compliance with stringent Insensitive Munitions requirements. We are now conducting an extensive process development activity to optimize our manufacturing processes to achieve maximum performance. If this quantum leap in performance can indeed be demonstrated, it would result in tanks and motorcases that are approximately 10 times lighter than the best metal materials could achieve with an equivalent operating pressure and internal volume; This is a truly revolutionary technology! Aside from higher performing and safer solid rocket motors, this technology for very lightweight pressure containers would also enable the development of highly-simplified pressure-fed rocket propulsion systems, which will be key to reaching the elusive goal of routine, reliable, and affordable space transportation. These new composite laminates are also thermally and chemically compatible with liquid oxygen & hydrogen as well as all hydrocarbon fuels and many of the more corrosive liquid propellants.

Ablative Chambers, Nozzles, and Heat Shields: We design and build ablative thrust chambers, such as the one shown above at left. This is a 2005 test firing of the AirLaunch LLC upper stage engine prototype with a Compositex-built thrust chamber. Several more ablative thrust chambers and other parts were produced for AirLaunch’s VaPak propulsion system which burns self-pressurizing LOX/Propane propellants. Ablative chambers are self-cooled, which is vital to the success of pressure-fed rocket propulsion systems, since they exert no fluid pressure drop penalties for chamber cooling. This is why the more complicated regeneratively-cooled chambers are most often used with pump-fed engine systems, where substantial pressure drops are more easily tolerated. Pressure-fed liquid rocket systems are much simpler, less expensive, and more reliable, but they are optimized at lower feed pressures, so a low cost self-cooled chamber with zero pressure losses is highly desirable. We have also built ablative nozzles for various customers, such as the one shown above in the center picture. We also use the same ablative material technology to fabricate heat shields for atmospheric re-entry. One such heat shield is shown above at right being tested at JHU’s Applied Physics Laboratory.

Self-Pressurizing Liquid Rocket Propulsion Systems: Shown above is the test set-up from of one the Comp-L system test articles being readied for a series of static test firings at the Mojave Test Area. It burns a light hydrocarbon fuel with concentrated Hydrogen Peroxide oxidizer. Both fuel and oxidizer are fed to the engine by the vapor pressure of the volatile fuel. A small fraction of the fuel is vaporized as the propellants are consumed, thereby sustaining feed pressure without an external pressurization system. The copper engine chamber shown is sized for 100 pounds of thrust (in vacuum with a high expansion nozzle). This system was designed for on-board propulsion for small spacecraft.

Recent development efforts are focused on the Actively Vaporized Oxidizer (AVOx ) propulsion system, burning LOX/hydrocarbon, and the Evaporated Cryogen Propulsion System (ECPS ) for LOX/hydrogen. Design trade studies have shown the feasibility of a low cost SSTO that is based on the ECPS. Two conceptual launch vehicle designs were created, dubbed the Bluebird, a small launch vehicle which lifts 1,000 pounds of payload to LEO, and the Eagle, which lifts 12,500 pounds. Development work is continuing with the focus on advancing the technological maturity of the AVOx system within a preliminary design for a reusable booster with very high operability and reliability.

Aerodynamics: Shown above is a picture of one the Kestrel flight test articles being prepared for flight testing near the southeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake in 2005. To view two short video clips of flight testing, click here and here. This unique aircraft has a variable blowing system which actively controls circulation about the airfoil. Variable blowing allows this fixed wing aircraft to achieve very low airspeeds with enhanced maneuvering capabilities. Data collected during flight tests includes airspeed, altitude, engine power level, servo positions, and GPS position-velocity-course. This data is downloaded to a computer and analyzed after each flight. In parallel with flight testing, extensive wind tunnel testing and computation fluid dynamics analyses efforts were also conducted at Georgia Tech. The Air Vehicles Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB administered the Phase I and Phase II SBIR contracts for Kestrel mini-UAV aircraft development. These contracts have been completed, and we will continue the development and flight testing efforts with IR&D funds. The results of this development project have been encouraging thus far, particularly at higher Reynolds number (larger and faster aircraft). Many aircraft designs could potentially benefit from this unique circulation control technology,

Contact Compositex, Inc.:

danmoser@gmail.com

Phone: (801) 502-4379

Fax: (801) 501-0562

Street Address: 11815 Littler Road, Sandy, UT 84092-5758

President & Chief Technical Officer: Daniel J. Moser

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ã 2000-2008, Daniel J. Moser, All rights reserved