Lightweight Ablating Insulation for Ramjet Combustion Chambers

"To reduce ablating insulation weight in a ramjet interceptor the ablative performance per pound of material must be proportionally improved. SMRC/SWT proposes an innovative nanocomposite ablative technology similar to that demonstrated in our Air Forcefiber reinforced nanocomposite rocket ablative material (NRAM) project. The approach involves the intercalation of a nanoclay by an elastomeric (epoxy) resin. The nanoclay surface preparation will be varied for optimal nanoclay exfoliation and ablativeproperties. Chemical and particle reinforcement for char formation and physical property improvement are also proposed. A pre-proposal experiment with two off-the-shelf nanoclays and the current Dow Corning 93-104 ablating insulation material showed 20 -30% improvement in char formation and insulating properties for one of the clays, but the other failed to improve 93-104. This illustrates the importance of tailoring nanocomposite ablatives to optimize insulation performance. A detailed 3-round projectplan is proposed that examines resin choice, nanoclay surface preparation, and reinforcement strategies in detail. A full Linde torch ablation test facility will be used to conduct over 80 test firings on candidate materials in Phase I. Ramjet combustorand trowelable ablatives that FAR outperform current products on the market - and that can be processed with current manufacturing techniques - are an assured result. The SMRC c