Application of Carbon Fiber‐Reinforced Ceramic Composites in Active Thermal Protection of Advanced Propulsion Systems: A Review. Issue 4 (21st March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jing, Tingting; Xin, Yuepeng; Zhang, Liang; Sun, Xing; He, Chunwang; Wang, Jiachen; Qin, Fei
• Is Part Of: Chemical record. Volume 23:Issue 4(2023)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2023-03-21
• Subjects: ceramics -- composite material -- propulsion systems -- regenerative cooling -- thermal protection system; Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540
• DOI: 10.1002/tcr.202300022
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1527-8999

Abstract

Abstract: Thermal protection is one of the crucial issues for the advanced propulsion systems of Reusable Launch Vehicles. New service requirements for materials, such as high strength, low density, low thermal expansion, high thermal stability, etc., are raised for the thermal structure with the increasing demand of flight Mach numbers and thrust‐to‐weight ratio. Carbon fiber‐reinforced ceramic composites, which generally meet the aforementioned requirements, show great potential for various applications and they have been widely applied in the thermal protection for hypersonic vehicles. This paper gives a comprehensive and systematic review of current research status for carbon fiber‐reinforced ceramic composites applied in the thermal structure of advanced propulsion systems. Three aspects are presented and discussed: the ceramic composites fabrication and the property characterization, the thermal performance of composite thermal structure used in practical engines, and the numerical methods for predicting mechanical and thermal properties of composites as well as the physicochemical phenomenon in the cooling channels. Firstly, the main manufacturing processes for the carbon‐reinforced ceramic composites are presented and the corresponding advantages and disadvantages are analyzed. The high‐temperature oxidation and ablation behaviors of composites are demonstrated and the improvement of oxidation and ablation resistance by introducing the ultra‐high‐temperature ceramics into C/C composites is discussed in detail. Then, several typical applications of carbon fiber‐reinforced ceramic composites (mainly C/SiC), including the work of RCI, JAXA and NASA, have been reviewed and analyzed. After that, the current research status of macroscale equivalent and multiscale numerical methods for predicting the mechanical and thermal properties of composites as well as the complex physicochemical phenomenon occurring in hydrocarbon fuels are sorted out. Finally, several potential prospects are pointed out for the future research on the thermal protection of advanced propulsion systems based on the carbon fiber‐reinforced ceramic composites. Abstract : With the development of advanced RLVs, a higher thrust‐to‐weight ratio is needed for the future Two‐Stage to Orbit (TSTO) and Single‐Stage to Orbit (SSTO) missions. The metal‐based regenerative cooling structure cannot meet the requirement due to its high density and the composite cooling channel may be a promising choice. To this end, this paper presents a detailed review of the applications of carbon fiber‐reinforced composites in the thermal protection of advanced aerospace propulsion systems, and we discuss the current research status of composites in thermal protection systems from three aspects, i.e., the composite material preparation and performance characterization, structure‐level evaluation and application, and numerical modelling. We hope that this paper can provide a reference for the future development of active cooling technology using composites.