Novel Additively-manufactured Composite External Hypersonic Heat Shield (NACE HHS)

Nanoarmor continues its development of novel technologies for producing low-cost high-performance shield materials for extreme environments. Nanoarmor has formed a world class team to develop new materials, processes, modeling and manufacturing approaches for advanced high temperature thermal protection and management systems. The proposed innovation is centered around a patent-protected process technique for manufacturing ultrahigh temperature ceramic matrix composites (UHT-CMCs) that facilitates dissimilar material integration, non-extreme processing parameters, and additive manufacturing. The approach leverages a polymer-derived ceramic synthesis method that yields reinforced refractory ceramic composites suitable for 3D printing of curved structures and complex form factors. Test coupons will be produced and characterized for relevant material properties in ground-based hypersonic aerothermal environments as well as manufacturing scaleup analysis and micromechanics modeling. Approved for Public Release | 20-MDA-10643 (3 Dec 20)