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Thermal protection was always a prominent issue in the aerospace industry. For vehicle safety, reliability and payload requirements, thermal protection materials were usually expected to possess low density, superior mechanical and thermal insulation properties. Here, lightweight and high-strength porous mullite-silica ceramics were manufactured using particle-stabilized foaming technique. The strength and thermal insulation properties of porous ceramics modified with hollow silica spheres were significantly enhanced. A 10 wt% hollow spheres addition achieved a 28.9 % increase in strength and a 33.4 % decrease in thermal conductivity with almost constant porosity (from 86.39 % to 87.04 %). Considering the characteristics of light weight, high compression strength and superior thermal insulation performance, porous ceramics could be applied as thermal protection materials in the aerospace sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Highly porous mullite fiber-based ceramics with a three-dimensional cross structure were successfully designed and fabricated by filtration method. To address the thermal migration of silica sol, polysiloxane was introduced in the bonding system as high temperature binder to form more stable nods in the skeleton as opposed to silica sol which would migrate to the surface of fibers during the sintering process. Due to the lapped structure of mullite fibers, all products showed high porosity(74.1%∼80.9%), low density(0.554g/cm3∼0.608g/cm3) and relatively low thermal conductivity(<0.14 W/(m*K)). The reaction process of in situ porolysis and fracture mechanisms were illustrated, respectively. Besides, results showed that both sintering temperature and binder content had significant influence on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel plastic deformation was exhibited in amorphous oxides, attributed to the metastable state of amorphous phase with free volume and disordering structure; however, metastable degrees can be quite different in amorphous phases, and the effect of metastability on plastic deformation was never reported in amorphous oxides. In this work, the metastable degree of amorphous phase was controlled by adjusting the temperature in powder calcination, and evaluated through free volume and disordering degree, using the true density of amorphous powder, DSC and 27 Al MAS-NMR. Under compression at 500 °C, the sample with lowest metastability exhibited brittle fracture; however, the other two with higher metastable degrees displayed plastic strain of 3.5% and 5.2%. The enhanced plastic deformation benefited from higher metastability was mainly attributed to easier formation of shear bands. For amorphous phase with higher metastability, the atomic mobility and local free volume were larger, which could improve the formation of shear bands and promote the plasticity according to free volume theory. This work could inspire new methods to improve the plastic deformation in amorphous materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon is widely used in semiconductor industry but has poor performance in near-infrared photoelectronic devices because of its bandgap limit. In this study, a narrow bandgap silicon rich semiconductor is achieved by introducing ruthenium (Ru) into amorphous silicon (a-Si) to form amorphous silicon ruthenium (a-Si 1- x Ru x ) thin films through co-sputtering. The increase of Ru concentration leads to an enhancement of light absorption and a narrower bandgap. Meanwhile, a specific light trapping technique is employed to realize high absorption of a-Si 1- x Ru x thin film in a finite thickness to avoid unnecessary carrier recombination. A double-layer absorber comprising of a-Si 1- x Ru x thin film and silicon random nano-holes layer is formed on the back surface of silicon substrates, and significantly improves near-infrared absorption while the leaky light intensity is less than 5%. This novel absorber, combining narrow bandgap thin film with light trapping structure, may have a potential application in near-infrared photoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The method of in situ synthesis of mullite whiskers by gas-phase deposition and reaction was applied to improve the compressive strength of the mullite fiber brick. During the preparation process, silica sol, Al(NO 3 ) 3 solution and NH 4 F solution were introduced into the fibrous brick in the form of ions or sol through vacuum impregnation and freeze drying, and the silica sol, Al(NO 3 ) 3 and NH 4 F served as the silica sources, aluminum source and catalyst, respectively. Effects of process parameters (concentration of impregnation solutions, holding time, sintering temperature) on compressive strength and elastic modulus of the fibrous brick during the in situ toughening process were analyzed. SEM and XRD analysis results demonstrated that the mullite whiskers were synthesized on the surface of mullite fibers based on the reaction of AlOF and SiF 4 . What is more, the whiskers on adjacent fibers intersected with each other and formed many unfixed lap-jointing points, resulting in the increase of compressive strength and elastic modulus. Although the density and thermal conductivity of the sample after the generation of mullite whiskers fabricated with the optimum process were 0.406 g/cm 3 and 0.1262 W/(m K), respectively, which were slightly higher than that of the raw fibrous brick (0.375 g/cm 3 density and 0.1069 W/(m K) thermal conductivity, respectively), the corresponding compressive strength and elastic modulus of the sample reinforced with the whiskers increased to 1.45 MPa and 42.03 MPa, respectively, which were much higher than that of the raw fibrous brick (0.39 MPa compressive strength and 6.5 MPa elastic modulus). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel temperature resistance buoyancy material with hollow glass microspheres (HGMs) as the filler and borosilicate glass (BG, similar chemical composition to the HGMs) as the high temperature matrix was prepared by a tert-butyl alcohol based on gelcasting process. The effect of solid loading and sintering temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. The results showed that HGMs were bonded together by borosilicate glass and 45 wt.% solid loading and 700 °C were the optimal processing parameters to fabricate the samples with the best mechanical and thermal properties, and the corresponding bulk density, compressive strength, thermal conductivity and Young’s modulus were 0.92 g/cm 3 , 14.46 MPa, 0.15 W/m K and 1.24 GPa, respectively. The exponent m value for the samples fabricated in this work was 1.18, lower than that of open- or closed-cell foams, because the sample possess both the closed and open pores. The experimental values of thermal conductivity from 0.07 to 0.16 W/m K were lower than the prediction with the Hashin–Shtrikman upper bound and almost close to that predicted by the Landauer’s relation. Only modulus value of SSL45 sample which possessed the maximum value was closer to Hashin–Shtrikman upper bound, while the modulus value of other samples agreed well with Ashby–Gibson model applied for a porosity ranging from 65% to 89%. The HGMs/BG composite exhibited a low density, low thermal conductivity and excellent temperature resistance, and can be used as the thermal insulation for undersea pipeline or submarine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchically structured polymer-derived ceramic fibers were successfully produced by electrospinning a commercially available preceramic polymer to which a cobalt-based catalyst precursor was added, followed by pyrolysis in nitrogen at temperatures ranging from 1250 to 1400°C. The nanowires formed via the vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) mechanism, involving the reaction of SiO and CO gases, generated from the decomposition of the polymer-derived-ceramic at high temperature, with the heating atmosphere assisted by the presence of nano-sized CoSi droplets. The main crystalline phase for the nanowires was Si3N4 below 1350°C, and Si2N2O at 1400°C, and the amount of nanowires increased with increasing heating temperature. Hierarchically structured fiber mats possessed a higher specific surface area (14.45m2/g) than that of a sample produced without the cobalt catalyst (4.37m2/g). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal protection has always been an important issue in the energy, environment and aerospace fields. Porous ceramics produced by the particle-stabilized foaming method have become a competitive material for thermal protection because of their low density and low thermal conductivity. However, the study of porous ceramics for composite systems using particle-stabilized foaming method was relatively rare. Here, silica-alumina composite porous ceramics were prepared by particle-stabilized foaming method, which was achieved by tailoring the surface charges of silica and alumina through adjustment of the pH. Porous ceramics exhibited porosity as high as 97.49% and thermal conductivity (25 °C) as low as 0.063 W m−1 K−1. The compressive strength of porous ceramics sintered at 1500 °C with a solid content of 30 wt% could reach 0.765 MPa. Based on the light weight and excellent thermal insulation properties, the composite porous ceramic could be used as a potential thermal insulation material in the spacecraft industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel technique of flyash utilization was presented and mullite ceramics were prepared from flyash and desilication-flyash. The effect of desilication process was analyzed and the result shows that the only difference between flyash and desilication-flyash lies in the silica content, which is caused by the removal of silicate glassy phase during the desilication process. The physical and mechanical properties of flyash sample and desilication-flyash samples were measured. All results indicate that the desilication-flyash is more suitable to be used to prepare the mullite ceramics than flyash. The inner structure of flyash particle was first discovered, which can help us form a new description of the flyash particle and finally benefit the utilization of flyash. Lath-like mullite crystals appeared in high-iron samples and needle-like mullite crystals were observed in low-iron samples. The flexural strength of high-iron sample was higher than that of low-iron sample because of the formation of network structure consisting of many interlocked lath-like mullite crystals in high-iron samples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

High emissivity coatings on hypersonic vehicle surfaces dissipate heat by emitting thermal radiation. While the difficulty of increasing emissivity limits the performance of coatings to improve heat-dissipation of the thermal insulation felt. Herein, a novel high-reflectivity and high-emissivity integrated double-layer coating was developed to enhance the thermal insulation performance of the alumina fiber fabric. The coating comprised of TiO 2 @SiO 2 (T@S) as reflective agent and ZrO 2 /SiC w (ZSC) as emittance agents, was applied on the surface of alumina fiber fabric (AFF). The reflecting effect of radiation heat from the high reflective agent enhanced the thermal insulation properties of the double-layer coating. In the wavelength range of 0.4–2.5 μm, the average emissivity of the ZSC coating was 0.83 and the average reflectivity of the T@S coating was 0.63. With continuous heating at 1400 °C for 10 min with a butane torch, the temperature on the backside of the T@S–ZSC-coated AFF remained relatively stable at 225 °C, which is notably decreased by 80 °C compared to that of the single-layer ZSC-coated AFF. The tensile strength of AFF with T@S–ZSC coating reached 35 MPa after being heat treated at 1200 °C. Moreover, the bonding strength between the coating and the AFF substrate was measured to be 0.15 MPa. The double-layer coating with high emissivity and reflectivity, along with a flexible AFF substrate, offers a promising solution for addressing the challenging of surface heat-dissipation in hypersonic vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integration of thermal insulation and electromagnetic wave absorption was crucial in stealth technology and hypersonic vehicles but challenging. Herein, silicon carbide nanofibers were synthesized by in situ chemical vapor deposition within a carbon foam skeleton to form a wave absorbing and heat insulating integrated composite aerogel with a hierarchical porous structure. The unique hierarchical porous structure provided an excellent platform for the absorption of electromagnetic waves, achieving a minimum reflection loss (RL min) of −51.46 dB at 17.20 GHz. Meanwhile, the C/SiC nanofiber aerogel maintained a low density of 0.013 g/cm3, an ultra-low thermal conductivity of 0.030 W/(m⋅K) and a high thermal stability up to 1000 °C. Furthermore, to enhance the electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption property of the aerogel, polypyrrole (PPy) was coated on the surface of C/SiC nanofiber aerogel by facile impregnation and chemical polymerization. The multiple conductor-semiconductor-conductor structure of C/SiC-PPy composite aerogel leads to various EMW loss mechanisms and excellent impedance match, resulting in an outstanding EMW absorption performance, with a RL min of −60.31 dB at 2.96 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring a consistently high-strength connection in superalloy components of space shuttles from 25 to 1200 °C is essential yet challenging. To achieve the objective, we developed an adhesive using silicon-boron modified phenolic resin (Si-BPF) as the matrix and inorganic fillers as additives. The continuous Si– O –Si– O –B– O –B skeleton endowed the Si-BPF with excellent thermal stability. In addition, the inorganic fillers inhibited the thermal decomposition of Si-BPF. The generation of low-melting-point glass phases compensated for the defects in the adhesive. Therefore, within the "300–600 °C weak strength interval", the synergistic effect of Si-BPF and inorganic additives increased the adhesive strength to 17.26 MPa. The formation of intermetallic compounds and the ceramization of the adhesive resulted in a gradual increase in the bonding strength of the composite adhesive with increasing temperature, reaching 34.23 MPa after 1200 °C. The adhesive enabled high-strength bonding for superalloys throughout the wide temperature range, enhancing the application of superalloy components in space shuttles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mullite fiber-based porous ceramics is one of the most commonly used high-temperature insulation materials. However, how to further reduce the thermal conductivity and improve the strength of such materials has been a challenge in the field of high-temperature insulation. In this paper, mullite micro/nano fiber-based porous ceramic was prepared by introducing mullite nanofibers into mullite microfiber-based porous ceramics and the effect of microfiber/nanofiber weight ratio on the samples properties were characterized and analyzed. Results showed that the compressive strength and high-temperature thermal insulation properties of the porous ceramics increased significantly with an increase in the nanofiber content. For the porous ceramics with similar density (about 0.50 g/cm3), the compressive strength of the sample with a microfibers/nanofibers weight ratio of 1:2 was 1.43 MPa, which was much higher than that of the porous ceramics prepared with only microfibers (0.26 MPa). Meanwhile, the backside thermal equilibrium temperature of the sample with a microfiber/nanofiber weight ratio of 1:2 at 900 °C environment was 355.8 °C, which was much lower than that of the porous ceramic prepared with only microfibers (476.5 °C). In addition, in order to investigate the temperature resistance of mullite micro/nano fiber-based porous ceramics, the sintering temperatures was increased from 1400 °C to 1500 °C. Results shows that the high-temperature thermal insulation performance of mullite micro/nano fiber-based porous ceramics with high mullite nanofiber content decays more seriously. The back-temperature test showed that the thermal equilibrium temperature of the samples with a mullite micron/nanofiber weight ratio of 1:1 in 900 °C environment increased rapidly from 386.3 °C to 454.2 °C when the sintering temperature was increased from 1400 °C to 1500 °C. The preparation of mullite micro/nanofiber-based porous ceramics provides a new strategy to improve the performance of fiber-based porous ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon fiber (CF) reinforced SiBCN composites were generally considered as key candidates for thermal protection under severe aerodynamic heating in aerospace due to their excellent high-temperature properties, but they were also faced with challenges in stably monitoring the structural integrity of themselves under extreme conditions. Herein, with the introduction of SiC coating, multifunctional CF-SiC/SiBCN composites were fabricated which integrated functions of the thermal protection and the structural health monitoring. Compared to the untreated CF/SiBCN composites, the stability of sensing of CF-SiC/SiBCN composites was greatly improved and the sensitivity of CF-SiC/SiBCN composites maintained at a high level with a gauge factor of 652.65. Furthermore, additional researches revealed that the CF-SiC/SiBCN composites enjoyed a high compressive strength (155.33 MPa), a light weight (1.07–1.61 g/cm3), and a relatively low thermal conductivity (4.02 W/(m·K)), which showed a potentiality of CF-SiC/SiBCN composites to be applied as multifunctional structural components in thermal protection systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical behaviors of single mullite fiber and binder/mullite fiber interface were experimentally investigated. The growth of the mullite grains of the fiber with the increasing calcination temperature greatly affected the tensile and compression strengths of the mullite fibers. As the calcination temperature went up from 1000 °C to 1500 °C, the average tensile strength decreased from 0.954 GPa to 0.191 GPa, and the Weibull modulus decreased from 5.1 to 1.8. The compressive strength was 50–60% of the average tensile strength under the same calcination temperature. The bonding strength of the binder/fiber interface increased with the increase of the calcination temperature. The mechanical properties and fracture mechanism of the mullite fiber-based porous ceramics with different binder contents were comprehensively analyzed based on the mechanical behavior of the single mullite fiber and the binder/fiber interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To prepare a coating with a high emissivity and low solar absorption ratio on the surface of aluminum silicate fiber cloth, the sol-gel method was used with silica sol as a binder. In this study, the effects of two white fillers, titanium oxide and zirconia, on the substrate and radiation properties of coatings were compared after heat treatment at 800–1200 °C. The ZrO 2 -based coating had good stability after heat treatment at 800–1200 °C, and maintained its white color, exhibiting solar absorption ratio of approximately 0.14 and emissivity of 0.84. ZrO 2 -based coatings prevented harmful cracking, as observed for the TiO 2 -based coatings after heat treatment, because of the ZrO 2 phase transformation. The ZrO 2 -based coating did not have strong bonding with the substrate, and the substrate strength was improved by maintaining a weak bonding interface. Compared with the TiO 2 -based coatings, which exhibit reduced substrate strength above 1000 °C, the ZrO 2 -based coating was more suitable for the surface of flexible fiber cloths as a temperature-resistant coating with good development prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the oxidation inhibition of TaSi 2 -based high-emissivity coatings at high temperatures, TaSi 2 –SiC coating modified by SiB 6 was prepared on the surface of alumina fibre fabrics. The effects of the SiB 6 content on the surface appearance and emissivity of the coating were investigated, and the mechanical properties of the coated fabrics were compared. When the SiB 6 content in the coating was 2.5%, the borosilicate glass liquid phase generated by SiB 6 oxidation effectively prevented the oxidation of TaSi 2. The bond strength between the coatings and fibre fabric was 207 kPa after calcination at 1200 °C, which was 39% higher than that of the coated fabric without SiB 6. The emissivity of the TaSi 2 –SiC coating, modified by a SiB 6 content of 2.5%, reached above 0.92 after calcination at 1200 °C for 5 h. Therefore, the TaSi 2 –SiC high-emissivity coating modified by SiB 6 has good application prospects in the field of thermal protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mullite fibrous ceramics with different types of binders (silica particles, SiO 2 -B 2 O 3 mixture and silicon particles) were successfully fabricated by a TBA-based gel-casting. The influence of the above three types of binder on the microstructure and properties of the ceramics were investigated. The results show the resource of the binders played an important role in tailoring the inner structure of the ceramics, consequently influencing the product properties. All products showed high porosity, low density and low thermal conductivity, attributed to the special 3D fibrous skeleton structure. The products with silica as binder sintered at 1500 °C exhibited relatively low compressive strength because of the high melting point of the silica particles. On the contrary, the products with silicon and SiO 2 -B 2 O 3 as the binder sintered at 1500 °C showed higher compressive strength owing to the low viscosity of the binders during the sintering process. Compared with the products SiO 2 -B 2 O 3 as the binder, the products with silicon as the binder was more suitable for being used in the high-temperature environment (above 1500 °C), since the silicon could transform into the silica phase with high melting point. Besides, with the increase of the silicon content, the compressive strength and the thermal conductivity of the products increased gradually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to maintain the strength of flexible substrate while applying the oxidation resistance dense glass coating, a scale structure coating on aluminum silicate fiber cloth was prepared with fused silica powder and silica sol as the binder and MoSi 2 as the emissive agent. The scale structure of the coating with large cracks along the braided grain and small random cracks on the fiber bundles allowed the fiber cloth to retain its flexible properties. Due to the block effect of dense SiO 2 glass phase on oxygen diffusion, the mass loss was only 0.35% after oxidation at 800 °C for 24 h while the average normal emissivity (2–14 μm) remained about 0.88. The MoSi 2 -silicon glass coating could avoid the generation of excessively strong interface with the substrate and improve the tensile strength of the sample to 140.52 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a critical structure of thermal protection systems, flexible fibre insulation felts are widely used on the leeward surface of spacecrafts. To enhance the thermal resistance of flexible fibre felts, SiC w -ZrO 2 coatings with different SiC whisker (SiC w) contents were fabricated on the surface of a high-silica-fibre fabric (HSFF) by employing a sol-gel method combined with a spraying route. The introduction of SiC w having a length of 10–50 μm effectively improved the coating integrity. After calcination at 1000 °C for 1 h, the SiC w -ZrO 2 coating containing 8 wt% SiC w did not damage the tensile strength and flexibility of the fibre fabric, and the interfacial bonding strength between the coating and HSFF reached 0.40 MPa, benefitting from the whisker toughening mechanism. The SiC w -ZrO 2 coating with a high emissivity of 0.96 in the 2–14 μm wavelength range reduced the surface temperature of the flexible insulation felt by approximately 300 °C when a butane torch was applied at above 1300 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]