Innovative Manufacturing of Polymer Derived Structural Insulator Materials For Hypersonic Flight Body Thermal Protection Systems

One of the biggest challenges in developing structural insulators for hypersonic vehicle thermal protection system (TPS) applications is to devise a sufficient thermal insulation that is also adequate structurally. Established commercial insulation products are not typically intended for structural load bearing applications and their manufacturing processes tend to be complex, slow, and expensive. There is a need for the development of reliable, uniform insulation materials with low thermal conductivity comparable to existing commercial products that also provide higher strength at temperature and can be inexpensively manufactured to produce near net shape components in form-factors applicable to Navy hypersonic flight vehicles. Sporian Microsystems has extensively researched and developed advanced ceramic materials for harsh environments, with a particular focus on materials and sensor technologies based on novel, polymer-derived ceramics (PDC) for ultra-high-temperature applications. However, while prior work has resulted in processes capable of producing highly advanced bulk thermal insulating materials/foams and hot structure components, this technology has not yet been fully optimized to take advantage of several emerging methods to improve material manufacturability and uniformity as well as process flexibility. The long-term objective of this proposed work is to heavily leverage and expand upon prior PDC-based insulating materials development to improve processes and materials that can be used to cost effectively realize lightweight, high-temperature-operable, ceramic structural insulating materials and components for hypersonic aerial vehicles’ TPS. Phase I laid the foundation for processes capable of cost effectively producing highly advanced,  near-net shape, bulk thermal insulating materials and hot structure components using processes with highly improved manufacturability. Phase II will focus on efforts to complete the fundamental process development, with an emphasis on completing the technical and manufacturing milestones needed to foster technology transition and adoption.