Carbon Fiber Reinforced Ceramic Composites for Propulsion Applications

Fiber reinforced ceramic composites are materials of choice for gas turbine engines because of their high thermal efficiency, thrust/weight ratio, and operating temperatures. However, the successful introduction of ceramic composites to hot structures is limited because of excessive cost of manufacturing, reproducibility, nonuniformity, and reliability. Intense research is going on around the world to address some of these issues. The proposed effort is to develop a comprehensive status report of the technology on processing, testing, failure mechanics, and environmental durability of carbon fiber reinforced ceramic composites through extensive literature study, vendor and end-user survey, visits to facilities doing this type of work, and interviews. Then develop a cooperative research plan between NASA GRC and NCA&T (Center for Composite Materials Research) for processing, testing, environmental protection, and evaluation of fiber reinforced ceramic composites.