Ablation properties and behavior of carbon fiber reinforced carbon composite (C/C composite)

Abstract

This paper presents the initial studies carried out in materials used as thermal protection systems (TPS) in reentry atmospheric vehicles (e.g reusable satellites) and in rocket nozzles. In the experiment, graphite and C/C composite are chosen as the target materials. For macroscopic aspect evaluation of the material degradation, the mass losses are measured against the exposure time by changing the material surface temperature. From the microscopic aspect, the eroded surfaces of materials by reactive air plasma are observed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

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