Silicone Polymer Composites for Thermal Protection System: Fiber Reinforcements, Microstructures, and Performance

Silicone polymer composites for thermal protection system: fiber reinforcements and microstructures

“…The prepreg stack is then subjected to curing, either by compression or autoclave molding. Typical cure cycles for the SM8000 laminates are in the following steps: 37,41 Thermal performance testing Simulated solid rocket motor An SSRM was used to evaluate the thermal performance of the candidate materials. The SSRM is an established test apparatus developed earlier by Koo et al 7 and has been used extensively in our previous studies.…”

“…The SSRM is an established test apparatus developed earlier by Koo et al 7 and has been used extensively in our previous studies. [29][30][31][34][35][36][37][41][42][43][44] The SSRM is a small-scale, liquid-fueled rocket motor burning kerosene oxygen as shown in Figure 2. Alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) particles are injected into the plume to simulate the particle-laden flow of solid rocket exhaust.…”

“…In this research program, seven SSRM and three SDL motor firings were conducted. 37,41 In the first three SSRM firing rounds (Rounds 1-3), they were set to compare the phenolic-based composite (MXBE-350) and different variants of silicone-based composites (SM8000) at the same test conditions. Detailed morphological characterization using SEM was performed to understand the material pre-test (virgin) and posttest (char) microstructures and their protective mechanisms.…”

“…As a result, the SM8024 composite is more ablation resistant than the MXBE-350 composite both on post-test mass loss and average erosion results. 37,41…”

“…Selective materials were tested using the scaled ducted launcher (SDL) test apparatus under solid propellant rocket exhaust plume. 37 The overall development and evaluation of this novel class of silicone polymer matrix composites can be found in Koo et al 37 Materials: constituents and fabrication…”