Microstructure and oxidation behavior of fibers and binders in charring ablators
Chen, Samuel
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/120144
Description
Title
Microstructure and oxidation behavior of fibers and binders in charring ablators
Author(s)
Chen, Samuel
Issue Date
2023-05-01
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Panerai, Francesco
Department of Study
Aerospace Engineering
Discipline
Aerospace Engineering
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Keyword(s)
Oxidation, Microstructure
Abstract
This work investigates the microstructure and oxidation response of Varcum and fibers separately to better understand the phenomena of spallation in charring ablators. Varcum and fibers are the two main constituents combined in a slurry to manufacture FiberForm, a substrate of PICA. A combination of electron microscopy, X-ray analysis, and surface area analysis techniques are used to characterize the materials at various scales. Results show increasing the processing temperature of the binder increases the structural order and size of the crystallite structure. The macro-pore size increases due the pyrolysis process, but pores at the micro-scale level decrease in volume. At higher oxidation temperatures, the oxidation rate of the binder also increases but is determined to be mostly reaction-limited.
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