Manufacturing, thermochemical characterization and ablative performance evaluation of carbon-phenolic ablative material with nano-Al2O3 addition
Carbon-phenolic ablative materials represent the most effective solution as thermal shield for a broad kind of space missions which require a ballistic reentry in atmosphere. These materials were successfully employed for shielding probes during the reentry from the Moon and landing on Mars. Nowadays further improvements are required and the addition of nano-fillers is a promising innovation strategy. In this work a carbon-phenolic ablative material with a density of 0.5 g/cm3 was manufactured with and without the addition of nano-Al2O3.