Thermal Response and Ablation Characteristics of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composite with Novel Silicon Containing Polymer MSP

Polymer composites are widely used for high temperature thermal protection (TPS)materials for spacecraft heat shields, and nozzle liners for solid propellant rocket motors. Newly developed silicon containing polymer, abbreviated MSP (Mitsui Silicon Containing Polymer), possesses high decomposition temperature (500 C), and high char yield (>94% at 1000 C)after pyrolysis. Therefore, the MSP polymer has potential as matrix resin of high performance ablative composites compared with conventional phenolic resins. In this study, thermal performance and ablation characteristics of a carbon composite with the MSP polymer (CF/MSP) were investigated under supersonic plasma air stream. The cold wall heat fluxes ranged from 1.2 to 11.0MW/m2. Conventional carbon fiber phenolic (CF/PR) composite was tested at the similar conditions for direct comparison. The mass loss of the CF/MSP composite was far less than that of the CF/PR composite, which is due to higher char yield and consequent high density of char layer. On the other hand, higher internal temperature was measured in the CF/MSP composite.