Abstract:
Thermal protection system (TPS) is an essential component of the space vehicles to protect them against the aerothermal heating that takes place during atmospheric entry. With time the demand for reusable launch vehicles (RLV) is increasing hence the pursuit for developing effective TPS has been accelerated. So in order to provide protection to the vehicles a porous ceramic foam tile consisting of silica (Si02) has been prepared. The tile was prepared by ultra-sonication, filtering, pressing and subsequent sintering. Numerous samples were prepared, and different parameters were changed to optimize the dispersion of the fibers in order to achieve maximum porosity and low values of thermal conductivity in the sample tile. Observations about dispersion of fibers in the tile was made after analyzing the microstructure using SEM images. Characterization of the tiles using BET determined the surface area, thermal conductivity test determined the change in thermal conductivity with porosity and compression testing determined the strength of these ties. The results were then compared with the already manufactured tiles already being used for thermal insulation system as reference and analysis was done.
