Hybrid Carbon-Carbon Ablative Composites for Thermal Protection in Aerospace

Abstract

Composite materials have been steadily substituting metals and alloys due to their better thermomechanical properties. The successful application of composite materials for high temperature zones in aerospace applications has resulted in extensive exploration of cost effective ablative materials. High temperature heat shielding to body, be it external or internal, has become essential in the space vehicles. The heat shielding primarily protects the substrate material from external kinetic heating and the internal insulation protects the subsystems and helps to keep coefficient of thermal expansion low. The external temperature due to kinetic heating may increase to about maximum of 500°C for hypersonic reentry space vehicles while the combustion chamber temperatures in case of rocket and missile engines range between 2000°C and 3000°C. Composite materials of which carbon-carbon composites or the carbon allotropes are the most preferred material for heat shielding applications due to their exceptional chemical and thermal resistance.