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Advanced structural ceramics in aerospace propulsion

Nature Materials volume 15, pages 804–809 (2016)Cite this article

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Humankind's aerospace aspirations are placing unprecedented demands on vehicle propulsion systems. Advanced structural ceramics are playing a key role in addressing these challenges.

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Figure 1: Interplay between temperature capabilities of engine materials, gas temperatures and engine performance.
Figure 2: High-temperature mechanical properties of various materials.
Figure 3: Schematic examples of 3D fibre-tow textile preforms.
Figure 4: Hypersonic vehicle and materials properties.
Figure 5: Examples of rocket nozzles made of hollow CMCs.

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Acknowledgements

N.P.P. thanks the Office of Naval Research (grant numbers N00014-13-1-0459 and N00014-15-1-2375), the Department of Energy (grant numbers DE-FE0008933 and DE-FG02-10ER4677) and the II-VI Foundation for the research support. Stimulating discussions with D. Marshall and B. Cox of Teledyne Scientific Company are gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Nitin P. Padture is at the Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation and at the School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA,

    Nitin P. Padture

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Correspondence to Nitin P. Padture.

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Padture, N. Advanced structural ceramics in aerospace propulsion. Nature Mater 15, 804–809 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4687

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