Development of Lower Cost High Temperature Composites for Hypersonic Tactical Missiles

The proposed Phase II effort involves 1) continued material development of low cost, high temperature composites for strategic missile components begun in Phase I, 2) the generation of an enhanced materials property database from measurements performed on these composites in Phases I and II, and 3) the utilization of two different types of low cost, high temperature composite materials within separately proposed tasks to design, fabricate and test the hot structure control surface for a follow-on derivative of the X-51A scramjet engine demonstrator hypervelocity vehicle. Specifically, pre-ceramic polymer-based silicon carbide (SiC) matrix composites will be further developed within the Phase II effort. To enable low cost processing methods to be utilized, polymer impregnation and pyrolysis (PIP) processing methods will be performed. Subcontractors to assist Materials Research & Design, Inc. in the proposed program include Allcomp, Inc. of City of Industry, CA for the composite processing and control surface fabrication, Southern Research Institute of Birmingham, AL for the materials testing task, and Boeing Phantom Works at Huntington Beach, CA for X-51B (i.e., the derivative vehicle) design requirements. The expected primary outcomes of the proposed effort include a) enhanced material performance capabilities from PIP-based carbon fiber reinforced SiC matrix composites and b) the demonstration of the suitability of this relatively new class of low cost, high temperature composite materials in load-bearing hot structure thermal protection system materials and components.