Thermal analysis of advanced ceramic coating on carbon/carbon substrates for aerospace re-entry re-usable structures
Aim of the work is to describe a novel coating process based on the Al-Oxide ceramic varnish ‘Pyropaint’ applied on a spacecraft Thermal Protection System for re-entry application. The proposed treatment is intended to preserve the thermo-mechanical properties of a Carbon/Carbon substrate from the detrimental space environment conditions, such as LEO thermal cycles, outgassing due to ultra-high vacuum, and Atomic Oxygen / UV irradiation. In order to enhance the coating performance, the used varnish is enriched with Si-Oxide nanoparticles in different weight percentage.