Reinforced compressive and ablative properties of phenolic aerogel by in-situ polycarbosilane-derived ceramic

Lightweight ablative materials owing to their low density, high efficiency heat insulation and excellent designability, which are considered as the most promising candidate materials in the field of aerospace ablative thermal protection. In this work, a polycarbosilane (PCS) in-situ reinforced carbon felt/phenolic (PR/Cf) aerogel composite is reported. The surface of aerogel and carbon fiber was coated with PCS protective layer by sol gel method and secondary vacuum impregnation process. The aerogel composite material possesses low density (0.264-0.307 g/cm3), hydrophobic, low thermal conductivity (0.121-0.178 W/(m & sdot;K)) and significant high compressive strength (12.89 MPa). When the oxygen acetylene flame with high heat flow density ablates for 20 s, it shows high efficiency in heat protection and insulation, and the linear ablation rate is as low as 0.089 mm/s. The PL/PR/Cf aerogel composite shows competitive and broad application prospects in the field of ablation heat protection in the future.

Automated summary

Lightweight ablative materials are considered as the most promising candidate materials in the field of aerospace ablative thermal protection due to their low density, high efficiency heat insulation, and excellent designability. In this study, a polycarbosilane in-situ reinforced carbon felt/phenolic aerogel composite is reported, which exhibits low density, hydrophobicity, low thermal conductivity, and high compressive strength. The composite material shows high efficiency in heat protection and insulation with a low linear ablation rate. It has competitive and broad application prospects in the field of ablation heat protection.