Materials Science Seminar-- Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics for Hypersonic Flight Vehicles

THE MORK FAMILY DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS SCIENCEPRESENTS A SEMINAR
BYJochen Marschall
SRI InternationalABSTRACTThe leading edges of hypersonic vehicles experience extreme aerothermal heating in a highly reactive gas environment. The current state-of-the-art thermal protection system for leading edges is SiC-protected carbon/carbon, as used for the nose cap and wing leading edges on the Space Shuttle. This system is rated for reusable operation up to 1500 °C. New hypersonic vehicle designs anticipate the need for leading edges that operate above 2000 °C. Ultra-high temperature ceramic (UHTC) materials based on zirconium and hafnium diborides, carbides and oxides are promising candidates for such applications.
The first part of this seminar will describe the environments experienced by leading edges during hypersonic flight, and the constraints that these flight environments impose on component design and materials selection. The second part will introduce UHTC materials, and describe their properties, manufacture, and testing. The final portion of the seminar will focus on the high temperature oxidation of UHTC materials, the formation of complex oxide scale microstructures, the acceleration of oxidation rates by dissociated oxygen, and the ramifications of UHTC oxidation on performance in flight.April 28, 2006
2:45-3:30 PM
(Refreshments will be served at 2:30 PM)
VHE 217**ALL FIRST YEAR MATERIALS SCIENCE MAJORS ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND**

Location: Vivian Hall of Engineering (VHE) - 217

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Petra Pearce