Coated Syntactic Titanium Composite for Low Cost Cruise Missile

The proposed program will develop a low cost, syntactic titanium foam sandwich panel outer layer encased with thermal sprayed thin tungsten layer for use as a insulation material in titanium sandwich panel structures for making dual functionality of thermal protection and structural capability of future missile integrated structural/TPS system. Based on previous program’s-conducted tests of thermal conductivity syntactic closed-cell titanium foam exhibits thermal conductivity less than 1/200th that of aluminum and about 1/20th that of solid titanium. Weight is 50% lighter than aluminum and 75 % lighter than titanium metal is a candidate material for future missiles integrated airframe/insulation structural system. Specifically, the innovation will demonstrate fabricating syntactic titanium foam sandwich panel by slurry cast titanium hydride encapsulated ceramic microspheres, drying, sintering, facesheet attachment and then encasing with a skin layer of tungsten by thermal spraying tungsten powders.