INTRODUCTION TO C3HARME PROJECT

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
LUCA ZOLI ◽  
DILETTA SCITI
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Thermal Protection ◽  
Weight Ratio ◽  
Ceramic Matrix Composites ◽  
Ceramic Matrix ◽  
Matrix Composites ◽  
Thermal Protection Systems ◽  
Protection Systems ◽  
Ultra High Temperature

High-speed aviation brings many challenges, one being the materials used ensure the aircraft and rockets travelling at hypersonic speed arrive at their destination safely. Control surfaces and thermal protection systems for vehicles flying at Mach 5 or above must withstand extremely hot temperatures and intense mechanical vibrations at launch, during cruising and re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. UHTCMCs (Ultra-High Temperature Ceramic Matrix Composites) belong to a new subclass of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) with superior properties in terms of structural and chemical stability at elevated temperature and erosion/ablation resistance keeping excellent strength-to-weight ratio, thermal shock resistance and adequate damage tolerance. They are the latest potential candidates for thermal protection systems (TPSs), able to outperform bulk ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs). C3HARME is a 4-years EU funded program involving 12 European partners from 6 countries focused on the design, fabrication and testing of UHTCMCs for nearzero erosion nozzles and near-zero ablation TPS tiles. C3harme will look at different technologies coming from the science of bulk ceramics and CMCs and combine them to find out new approaches for their manufacturing. Novel theoretical models and testing methodologies are necessary to characterize properly these materials. This talk will summarize some of the findings and advances of the program, with special emphasis on the innovative approaches that we have implemented.

scholarly journals Editorial: Ultra High Temperature Ceramics for Aerospace Applications

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-9
Author(s):  
Raffaele Savino
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Thermal Protection ◽  
Space Vehicles ◽  
Component Level ◽  
Ultra High Temperature Ceramics ◽  
Thermal Protection Systems ◽  
Protection Systems ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Ultra High Temperature

Improved interest in ultra-high-temperature ceramics (UHTCs) is being animating the scientific community. This emerging attention is driven by the demand of developing re-usable hot structures as thermal protection systems of aerospace vehicles, able to re-enter in planetary atmospheres at relatively high speed (order of 8-11 Km/s). In contrast to traditional blunt capsules or Shuttle-like vehicles, characterised by poor gliding capabilities and complex thermal protection systems, the future use of UHTCs opens new horizons for the development of spaceplanes with slender fuselage noses and sharp wing leading edges. Advanced aerodynamic configurations reduce the vehicles drag, enhance the vehicles performances, due to a larger manoeuvrability resulting in larger down range, cross range and abort windows, and reduce electromagnetic interferences and communications black-out. Analysis has shown that materials with temperature capability approaching 2000°C and above will be required for these space vehicles, but the state of the art Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) material, currently used on the Space Shuttle, have maximum use temperatures of approximately 1650°C. The articles collected in this issue provide state-of-art scientific advancements on the subject with particular attention to the potential technological applications. The papers specifically deal with research studies on monolithic ceramic materials, composed primarily of Zirconium and Hafnium Diborides with different additives. The activities are carried out at materials level, with furnace or arc-jet testing, or include developments of UHTC-based hot structures at sub-component level. In the latter case, ultra-high temperature ceramic prototype structures have been developed and tested with embedded structural health monitoring systems. I want to thank all the article contributors for their manuscripts. I hope they will be useful for future basic and applied researches on the subject.

AERO-THERMO-DYNAMIC STUDY OF ULTRA-HIGH- TEMPERATURE CERAMIC COMPOSITES FOR THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS AND ROCKET NOZZLES

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEFANO MUNGIGUERRA ◽  
ANSELMO CECERE ◽  
RAFFAELE SAVINO
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Thermal Protection ◽  
Ceramic Composites ◽  
Thermal Protection Systems ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Ablation Resistance ◽  
Protection Systems ◽  
Project Objectives ◽  
Ultra High Temperature

The most extreme aero-thermo-dynamic conditions encountered in aerospace applications include those of atmospheric re-entry, characterized by hypersonic Mach numbers, high temperatures and a chemically reacting environment, and of rocket propulsion, in which a combusting, high-pressure, supersonic flow can severely attack the surfaces of the motor internal components (particularly nozzle throats), leading to thermo-chemical erosion and consequent thrust decrease. For these applications, Ultra-High-Temperature Ceramics (UHTC), namely transition metal borides and carbides, are regarded as promising candidates, due to their excellent high-temperature properties, including oxidation and ablation resistance, which are boosted by the introduction of secondary phases, such as silicon carbide and carbon fibers reinforcement (in the so-called Ultra-High- Temperature Ceramic Matrix Composites, UHTCMC). The recent European H2020 C3HARME research project was devoted to development and characterization of new-class UHTCMCs for near-zero ablation thermal protection systems for re-entry vehicles and near-zero erosion rocket nozzles. Within the frame of the project and in collaboration with several research institutions and private companies, research activities at the University of Naples “Federico II” (UNINA) focused on requirements definition, prototypes design and test conditions identification, with the aim to increase the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of UHTCMC up to 6. Experimental tests were performed with two facilities: an arc-jet plasma wind tunnel, where small specimens were characterized in a relevant atmospheric re-entry environment (Fig.1a), and a lab-scale hybrid rocket engine, where material testing was performed with different setups, up to complete nozzle tests, in conditions representative of real propulsive applications (Fig.1b). The characterization of the aero-thermo-chemical response and ablation resistance of different UHTCMC formulations was supported by numerical computations of fluiddynamic flowfields and materials thermal behavior. The UNINA activities provided a large database supporting the achievement of the project objectives, with development and testing of full-scale TPS assemblies and a large-size solid rocket nozzle.

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