EVALUATION OF GRAPHITE COMPOSITES IN RE-ENTRY ENVIRONMENTS.
Abstract
The suitability of several new graphite composites for frontal or leading edge components of re-entry vehicles has been assessed. These composites represent advances in graphite technology aimed at broadening the physical property spectrum of current state-of-the-art graphites produced by conventional processes. The assessment was accomplished by means of a three-phase program which was concerned with mass loss characterization, re-entry systems analyses, and re-entry simulation testing, respectively. In general, the fully stabilized composites were found suitable for leading edge applications; however, caution must always be used when evaluating specific vehicle designs. Several pertinent conclusions are deduced regarding the many attributes and few shortcomings of these materials and recommendations are made for continued analytical and experimental study both from a materials development and evaluation point of view. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0473546
Entities
People
- Richard A. Tanzilli
Organizations
- General Electric