Spray Deposition of Aerogels as Thermal Barriers

The innovation addressed in this proposal is an aerogel-based thermal barrier.. Applied with a proprietary process to the nose tip and leading edges of the control surfaces, this ultra-thin barrier can provide enough thermal resistance to blunt the severe temperature spike due to aero-thermal heating in the first few seconds after launch. This will maintain the shell's skin temperature be-low the limit value, preserving structural and aerodynamic integrity. Downrange, as the projectile decelerates into less extreme flight conditions, the aerogel further limits the integrated heat soak, thereby protecting the payload and other internal components. In this way, Aspen's thermal coatings would enable the US Navy to capture the range, lethality, and time-to-target advantages offered by hypervelocity projectiles and missiles. During the proposed program, Aspen Aerogels (Northborough, MA) will work with its academic partner to develop this concept. As the industry leader in commercial aerogel products, Aspen will concentrate on the aerogel chemistry. The academic partner will leverage its unique analytical and experimental capabilities to evaluate the system`s performance under realistic conditions of aerothermal heating and mechanical shock.