IMPROVED STRENGTH CARBON-CARBON FACEPLATE HEATSHIELD FOR PHASED ARRAY ANTENNA WINDOWS

SENSOR SYSTEMS FOR HYPERSONIC REENTRY SYSTEMS CAN REQUIRE LARGE ARRAYS WHICH MUST OPERATE IN SEVERE HEATING ENVIRONMENTS FOR LONG DURATIONS. IN SOME DESIGNS, THESE ARRAYS ARE PROTECTED FROM THE ENVIRONMENT BY INDIVIDUAL DIELECTRIC WINDOWS OVER EACH ARRAY ELEMENT, WITH A HIGH TEMPERATURE STRUCTURAL MATERIAL (FACEPLATE) SEPARATING THE WINDOWS. NORMALLY THE STRUCTURAL MATERIAL IS SOME FORM OF CARBON COMPOSITE, BUT IN CONVENTIONAL WEAVES, THE CARBON FIBER CONTINUITY IS DISTURBED BY HOLES DRILLED FOR THE WINDOWS. THIS DRASTICALLY REDUCES THE STRENGTH OF THE FACEPLATE. AN INVESTIGATION OF ALTERNATE WEAVING AND PROCESSING APPROACHES TO IMPROVE THE STRENGTH OF COMPOSITE FACEPLATES IS PROPOSED.