INCAS Bulletin (Dec 2014)
Thermal Performance of Ablative/ Ceramic Composite
Abstract
A hybrid thermal protection system for atmospheric earth re-entry based on ablative materials on top of ceramic matrix composites is investigated for the protection of the metallic structure in oxidative and high temperature environment of the space vehicles. The paper focuses on the joints of ablative material (carbon fiber based CALCARB® or cork based NORCOAT TM) and Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) material (carbon fibers embedded in silicon carbide matrix, Cf/SiC, SICARBON TM or C/C-SiC) using commercial high temperature inorganic adhesives. To study the thermal performance of the bonded materials the joints were tested under thermal shock at the QTS facility. For carrying out the test, the sample is mounted into a holder and transferred from outside the oven at room temperature, inside the oven at the set testing temperature (1100°C), at a heating rate that was determined during the calibration stage. The dwell time at the test temperature is up to 2 min at 1100ºC at an increasing rate of temperature up to ~ 9,5°C/s. Evaluating the atmospheric re-entry real conditions we found that the most suited cooling method is the natural cooling in air environment as the materials re-entering the Earth atmosphere are subjected to similar conditions. The average weigh loss was calculated for all the samples from one set, without differentiating the adhesive used as the weight loss is due to the ablative material consumption that is the same in all the samples and is up to 2%. The thermal shock test proves that, thermally, all joints behaved similarly, the two parts withstanding the test successfully and the assembly maintaining its integrity.
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