Ablation-Resistant High-Density Hypervelocity Projectile Nosetip

This project will develop and demonstrate a high-temperature ceramic-coated tungsten nosetip for hypervelocity projectiles. The ceramic coating will delay oxidation, which causes increased surface roughness, boundary layer transition, much higher heat transfer rates, and substantial ablation of tungsten and carbon-carbon materials. If laminar flow over the nosetip can be maintained, tungsten"s properties enable it to heat-sink the incident aerodynamic heating and avoid ablation for the Mach 8 launch condition of interest. Development of the ceramic material and coating process will build on our prior ceramic-coated tungsten experience. Phase I will include fabrication and characterization of oxidation-resistant ceramic coated tungsten nosetip specimens.