Experimental Verification of Composite Material With Chopped Fiber Glass in Phenol as a Rocket Nozzle Insulation

Abstract

This work deals with the characterization of chopped fiber glass composite. The resin matrix was a phenol base. Sheets of this composite have been cured and cut to make sample specimens for testing. Four mechanical testing have been conducted for these material including tensile test at different temperatures, bending test, compression test and hardness test. Three thermal tests including thermal conductivity determination, thermal expansion coefficient determination and ablation test have been conducted. The results show that this material has very good thermal properties capable of resisting high temperatures.A nozzle for rocket motor has been made from this material as insulators, and static firing test has been conducted and the temperatures inside this composite material have been measured. Investigation of the thermal loads response of composite nozzle has been done using FE using ANSYS package software and the calculated temperatures have been recorded from the same places that chosen in the real firing test. By comparing the measured and obtained temperature for the fiber glass, there is a great agreement between them. The selected composite material resists the high temperatures so this used as thermal protective material.