Analysis of Fibrous Felts for Flexible Ablators Using Synchrotron Hard X-Ray Micro-TomographyWe analyzed the material properties of low-density felts that are used as substrates for new-generation flexible and conformal carbon/phenolic ablators, and compared them with those of a rigid carbon fiber preform that is used to manufacture rigid carbon/phenolic ablators. Micro-tomography measurements were obtained using synchrotron X-rays, allowing the characterization of the materials microstructure at the scale of the fibers. Using the tomography voxels as computational grids, we computed tortuosity and room temperature conductivity. In addition we performed micro-scale simulations of the oxidation of carbon fibers using a random walk model for oxygen diffusion and a probability law to model surface reactions.
Document ID
20190000972
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Panerai, Francesco (Kentucky Univ. Lexington, KY, United States)
Ferguson, Joseph (Kentucky Univ. Lexington, KY, United States)
Lachaud, Jean (University Affiliated Research Center (Calif. Univ. Santa Cruz) Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Martin, Alexandre (Kentucky Univ. Lexington, KY, United States)
Gasch, Matthew J. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Mansour, Nagi N. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
February 26, 2019
Publication Date
March 2, 2015
Subject Category
Fluid Mechanics And ThermodynamicsComposite Materials
Report/Patent Number
ARC-E-DAA-TN21716
Meeting Information
Meeting: European Symposium on Aerothermodynamics for Space Vehicles