Reusable, oxidation-protected reinforced carbon-carbon has been successfully flown on all Shuttle Orbiter flights. Thermal testing of the silicon carbide-coated, reinforced carbon-carbon to determine its oxidation characteristics has been performed in convective (plasma Arc-Jet) heating facilities. Surface sealant mass loss was characterized as a function of temperature and pressure. High-temperature testing was performed to develop coating recession correlations for predicting performance at the over-temperature flight conditions associated with abort trajectories. Methods for using these test data to establish multimission reuse (i.e., mission life) and single mission limits are presented.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Williams et al. (1995) studied this question.