HYPERSONIC RAMJET LEADING EDGE MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

CERAMATEC HAS CONDUCTED EXPLORATORY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ON MONOLITHIC AND COMPOSITE MATERIALS IN THE ZRB2 AND TIB2 SYSTEMS AND HAS OBTAINED VERY ENCOURAGING RESULTS WITH SEVERAL PROPRIETARY COMPOSITIONS/CONSTRUCTIONS. THE AVERAGE STRENGTH OF A BASELINE TIB2 COMPOSITION WAS MEASURED AT 877 MPA (127.3 KSI). COMPOSITE STRUCTURESWITH DISCONTINUOUS REINFORCEMENT HAD STRENGTHS IN THE RANGE 400-600 MPA. INITIAL COMPOSITES WITH CONTINUOUS FIBER REINFORCEMENT HAD STRENGTHS AROUND 300 MPA AND FRACTURED IN A NON-CATASTROPHIC COMPOSITE MODE. SAMPLES OF SEVERAL COMPOSITIONS SURVIVED SEVERE THERMAL TRANSIENTS, TEMPERATURES GREATER THAN 4500 DEG F AND HIGH VELOCITY ABRASIVE PARTICLE IMPINGEMENT IN A ROCKET NOZZLE ENVIRONMENT. CERAMATEC PROPOSES TO USE THIS AND OTHER PROPRIETARY MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY AS A BASELINE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A LEADING EDGE WITH A RADIUS OF 0.030 INCH FOR AN ADVANCED HYPERSONIC VEHICLE. THE PHASE I EFFORT WILL INCLUDE MATERIAL SCREENING AND SELECTION BASED ON FABRICATION OF CROSS SECTIONS UP TO 0.25 INCH THICK, FOLLOWED BY SHAPE FORMING DEVELOPMENT TO ACHIEVE THE 0.030 INCH RADIUS LEADING EDGE.