Development of a Flexible Ablator for Expandable Re-entry Bodies

Abstract

Candidate materials suitable for use in thermal shield systems on foldable structures have been evaluated. Thermal shield folding techniques with both the mechanical truss and Airmat ENCAP structures also were defined. Environmental requirements have been investigated for various orbital conditions, and entry conditions have been defined for a range of orbits compatible with the ENCAP missions. Following candidate materials were evaluated: INORGANIC FIBER OR CLOTH REINFORCED VINYL SILICONE, CHEMICALLY FOAMED VINYL SILICONE AND FIBER REINFORCED VINYL SILICONE FOAM, METHYL SILICONE, SYNTACTIC FOAM, FIBER REINFORCED METHOYLPHEN SILICONE FOAM, AND MODIFIED EPOXY-SILICONE FOAM. Adorability rating index has been established on the basis of material mechanical properties. This index has been used as the basis for the material tradeoffs and selection of the prime thermal shield system. The thermal shield system selected for further study is a composite elastomeric shield material consisting of a GE Blue overlay on ESM1030.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1970
Accession Number
AD0871900

Entities

People

  • A. L. Levine
  • D. E. Florence
  • D. Lowe
  • J. Kohr
  • R. C. Thuss
  • R. Gluck

Organizations

  • General Electric

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerodynamic Heating
  • Boundary Layer
  • Composite Materials
  • Contracts
  • Heat Energy
  • Heat Transfer
  • Materials
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Mechanical Working
  • Mechanics
  • Modulus Of Elasticity
  • Specific Heat
  • Tensile Strength
  • Thermal Conductivity
  • Thermal Properties
  • Thermodynamics
  • Turbulent Flow

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Reinforced Composite Materials

Technology Areas

  • Space