A collaboration between the University of Utah, Penn State, and Colorado-based company Elementum 3D has been awarded funding through NASA’s Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I program. The team will work together to advance the science of cold spray additive manufacturing for high-temperature alloys that can be used in the aerospace, space, defense, and energy industries. The announcement comes as NASA’s Artemis II mission returns astronauts to deep space, a milestone University of Utah researcher Dr. Suhas Eswarappa Prameela recently discussed in a local news interview (see below).

Manufacturing Challenges in Extreme Environments

In industries that operate under extreme thermal, mechanical, and oxidative environments, such as aerospace, defense, energy, and space propulsion, manufacturers and researchers face growing challenges in manufacturing high-performing and economically viable products.

In space propulsion systems, for example, reusable rocket engine components must survive repeated exposure to extreme temperatures and reactive environments without degradation. As NASA and industry partners push towards greater reusability and higher operating limits in these components, traditional materials and manufacturing approaches increasingly constrain service life and reliability.

These challenges have driven interest in advanced alloys and new manufacturing routes capable of enabling durable, repairable, and reusable components to be used in extreme environments.

A New Alloy in Additive Manufacturing

To meet these challenges, researchers use cold spray additive manufacturing techniques to develop components for rocket engines and other products designed to operate under extreme temperature, pressure, and stress.

Cold spray additive manufacturing, akin to 3D printing, deposits metal particles at high velocities to incrementally form dense coatings or bulk structures using a cold spray technique. This method works well for large or complex components, as it has higher deposition rates, minimal thermal damage, and fewer constraints on part size.

However, one of the challenges that comes with spray-based manufacturing is understanding how these metal particles bond, deform, or rebound upon impact, and how this in turn influences the performance of a product. Particle chemistry, microstructure, surface condition, impact velocity, and temperature all play critical roles in determining whether successful bonding occurs—all factors that are especially important for alloys designed for extreme environments.

With the recent development of NASA’s Commercial Invention of the Year, GRX-810, an alloy designed to withstand extreme temperature and oxidative environments, researchers are working to develop a scientific understanding of how the alloy’s particles bond during impact. This will eventually enable reliable manufacturing and repair pathways for components made of GRX-810, as the NASA-developed alloy has demonstrated exceptional performance in high-temperature applications.

A Partnership for Progress

Led by Elementum 3D, the STTR Phase I project brings together expertise from industry and academia, as the company, Penn State, and the University of Utah collaborate to explore spray-based manufacturing routes for GRX-810 with an end goal of optimization for manufacturing use.

Each organization plays a critical role in the project. Elementum 3D, based in Erie, Colorado, provides GRX-810 feedstock material and manufacturing perspective to both universities, while Penn State focuses on cold spray process development of the alloy.

Meanwhile, the University of Utah’s STARS Lab, directed by Dr. Suhas Eswarappa Prameela in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, contributes fundamental insight through tests on single particles using a novel Laser-Induced Particle Impact Test (LIPIT) system. These experiments test multiple variables that determine whether individual particles adhere, deform, or rebound during the cold-spray manufacturing process.

In a recent interview tied to the Artemis II launch, Prameela explained the broader significance of NASA’s return to the Moon, Utah’s longstanding role in propulsion systems, and the advanced materials needed for future lunar missions.

By combining their expertise and data, Elementum 3D, Penn State, and STARS Lab aim to map how material and processing parameters influence the bonding behavior of GRX-810. These results will guide future optimization of full-scale cold-spray manufacturing for these extreme temperature alloys.

Bridging Fundamental Science and Future Propulsion Systems

Collaborations like this highlight the critical role of academic laboratories in bridging basic science and applied research that confronts a pressing industry problem.

Dr. Suhas Eswarappa Prameela leads research that primarily focuses on understanding fundamental materials behavior under extreme conditions, while also contributing to applied challenges through partnerships with organizations like NASA.

“I think this confluence of basic and applied research is absolutely critical,” shared Dr. Eswarappa Prameela. “Our strength lies in understanding the fundamental physics, but programs like STTR allow us to translate those insights into manufacturing-relevant knowledge that industry and NASA can directly use.”

Advice for Postdocs and PIs

This process serves as translation guiding both basic and applied research, but it also gives researchers and PIs opportunities to work together to combat real and intricate problems that require innovative solutions. Dr. Eswarappa Prameela encourages early-career researchers to seek collaborations across disciplines and institutions.

“Complex problems like these cannot be solved in isolation,” he said. “Engaging with people who bring different tools, perspectives, and expertise is essential.”

Partnerships such as the one between the University of Utah, Penn State, and Elementum 3D enable teams to address problems that span across materials design, processing science, and manufacturing scalability.

The U’s Innovation Ecosystem

This collaboration is funded through NASA’s STTR Phase I program, which supports early-stage technology development through partnerships between research institutions and small businesses. Phase I supports projects like these for 13 months, with successful projects eligible to compete for a Phase II Award, which would support further development and scale-up.

As space and aerospace technologies continue to drive economic growth both nationally and in Utah, collaborations like this position the U of U to contribute foundational scientific insight into next-generation propulsion systems, including high-temperature materials and manufacturing approaches relevant to future rocket engine components for lunar and deep-space missions.

Learn more about NASA’s STTR Program.