ISRO Successfully qualifies fourth stage engine of PSLV with Stellite Nozzle Divergent
Home / ISRO Successfully qualifies fourth stage engine of PSLV with Stellite Nozzle Divergent

April 18, 2025

The liquid engines being flown in the fourth stage of PSLV (PS4) use nozzle divergent made up of imported Columbium (C103) material. An alternate material, Stellite (KC20WN), was proposed for the nozzle divergent realization to achieve Atmanirbharatha along with associated cost savings. Stellite is a cobalt based alloy with additions of Chromium, Nickel, Tungsten and Iron. It is a material which retains good strength at high temperatures up to 1150°C and hence becomes a suitable material for high temperature applications. As part of the qualification programme, 3 hot tests were already completed on two hardware in the first phase. On April 08, 2025, the final test of the qualification programme was successfully completed through a hot test for a long duration of 665 seconds at the test facility in ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri. The use of this alloy has resulted in cost savings to the extent of 90%.

ISRO Successfully qualifies fourth stage engine of PSLV with Stellite Nozzle Divergent
ISRO Successfully qualifies fourth stage engine of PSLV with Stellite Nozzle Divergent

PS4 Engine mounted at the test facility

ISRO Successfully qualifies fourth stage engine of PSLV with Stellite Nozzle Divergent

Nozzle divergent during the test