AN ASSESSMENT OF THE THERMOSTRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE AND FEASIBILITY OF USING ROTATED PLY STACKING FOR CARBON-CARBON CLOTH BASED NOZZLE COMPONENTS

THE SENSITIVITY OF THE THERMOSTRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE OF ROCKET NOZZLES TO CHANGES IN CARBON-CARBON COMPOSITE MATERIAL PROPERTIES HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM. RESULTSOF AN AIR FORCE STUDY HAVE CLEARLY INDICATED THAT SIGNIFICANT GAINS IN STRUCTURAL RELIABILITY COULD BE ACHIEVED BY ADOPTING A ROTATED PLY STACKING SEQUENCE WITH WCA-BASED, TWO-DIMENSIONAL CARBON-CARBONS. THIS PROJECT WILL EXAMINE THE POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVEMENT AFFORDED BY USING A ROTATED PLY STACKING SEQUENCE. THE STUDY WILL ENTAIL CONDUCTING THERMOSTRUCTURAL ANALYSES OF THE CCT-4 MOTOR, USING A CARBON-CARBON EXIT CONE THAT FEATURES A ROTATED PLY CONSTRUCTION. A QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT WILL BE MADE OF THE DEGREE OF IMPROVEMENT AFFORDED BY A ROTATED PLY CONSTRUCTION; THE OPTIMUM PLY STACKING ARRANGEMENT WILL BE IDENTIFIED AS WELL. PRODUCEABILITY STUDIES WILL BE CONDUCTED WITH INFORMATION FROM MATERIAL SUPPLIERS; THEY WILL ASCERTAIN THE FEASIBILITY OF MANUFACTURING ROTATED PLY PATTERNS SUITABLE FOR CARBON-CARBON, CLOTH-NOZZLE COMPONENTS, AS WELL AS IDENTIFY ANY POTENTIAL DIFFICULTIES OR LIMITATIONS INHERENT IN ROTATED PLY CONSTRUCTION. THE SENSITIVITY OF THE THERMOSTRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE OF ROCKET NOZZLES TO CHANGES IN CARBON-CARBON COMPOSITE MATERIAL PROPERTIES HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM. RESULTSOF AN AIR FORCE STUDY HAVE CLEARLY INDICATED THAT SIGNIFICANT GAINS IN STRUCTURAL RELIABILITY COULD BE ACHIEVED BY ADOPTING A ROTATED PLY STACKING SEQUENCE WITH WCA-BASED, TWO-DIMENSIONAL CARBON-CARBONS. THIS PROJECT WILL EXAMINE THE POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVEMENT AFFORDED BY USING A ROTATED PLY STACKING SEQUENCE. THE STUDY WILL ENTAIL CONDUCTING THERMOSTRUCTURAL ANALYSES OF THE CCT-4 MOTOR, USING A CARBON-CARBON EXIT CONE THAT FEATURES A ROTATED PLY CONSTRUCTION. A QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT WILL BE MADE OF THE DEGREE OF IMPROVEMENT AFFORDED BY A ROTATED PLY CONSTRUCTION; THE OPTIMUM PLY STACKING ARRANGEMENT WILL BE IDENTIFIED AS WELL. PRODUCEABILITY STUDIES WILL BE CONDUCTED WITH INFORMATION FROM MATERIAL SUPPLIERS; THEY WILL ASCERTAIN THE FEASIBILITY OF MANUFACTURING ROTATED PLY PATTERNS SUITABLE FOR CARBON-CARBON, CLOTH-NOZZLE COMPONENTS, AS WELL AS IDENTIFY ANY POTENTIAL DIFFICULTIES OR LIMITATIONS INHERENT IN ROTATED PLY CONSTRUCTION.