Integrated thermal protection system based on C/SiC composite corrugated core sandwich plane structure

A combined theoretical, numerical and experimental investigation of the integrated thermal protection system based on C/SiC composite corrugated core sandwich plane structure was conducted. Corrugated core sandwich plane structure was made from carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide composite by a hot compression molding combined with precursor infiltration and pyrolysis method. The equivalent thermal conductivity prediction method for the C/SiC composite corrugated core sandwich plane was developed, and its heat transferring behavior was numerical analyzed. Based on the theory and numerical analysis, a novel integrated thermal protection system, which was consisted of three parts: C/SiC composite corrugated core sandwich plane, insulated aerogel filling in the core, and insulated aerogel adhering onto the down surface of the down facesheet, was designed, manufactured and examined by simulated atmospheric re-entry wind tunnel test. It was believe that this novel design of integrated thermal protection system is a potential thermal protection system for the next generation hypersonic flights. (C) 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.