AI Designed Rocket Engine In Two Weeks
Dubai-based AI engineering company Leap 71 has developed a new rocket engine design in just two weeks.
This was made possible thanks to the Noyron model, which independently created the engine drawings. The motor was 3D printed on a copper base by AMCM in Germany, post-processed at the University of Sheffield and successfully tested.
Finishing the parts and assembling the engine took the most time, which was done by employees of the British University of Sheffield. The AI seemed to hint that only physical work remained for humans, and the algorithms took over the creative component.
The rocket engine designed by the neural network runs on kerosene/liquid oxygen steam. During static fire testing at the Airborne Engineering site in Wescott, UK, the 5 kN (500 kg) engine confirmed its performance. First, it warmed up for 3.5 seconds, and then reached full power and worked for 12 seconds, during which it developed a thrust of 20 thousand horsepower. This is enough to equip the upper stage of a rocket with such an engine. The Noyron model can produce each new engine modification at a speed of less than 15 minutes, carrying out calculations on a regular computer.
However, tests revealed the need for optimization – the resistance of the cooling channels turned out to be higher due to the roughness of the surface after 3D printing.
