Development and characterization of ablative materials used for rocket motors

The major purpose of this research work was to acquire two formulations of ablative materials used for solid rocket nozzles. These advanced materials are fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites capable of protecting the structures from the exceedingly severe performing conditions. These materials should withstand very high temperatures in the order of thousands of degrees Celsius, high thrust, high friction, and impact. In this study, the composites fiber glass were obtained with a phenolic resin (PR) and modified PR by the addition of epoxy resins and phenyltrimethoxysilane for improving the ablation resistance using the hot compression molding technique. Moreover, the physical as well as chemical properties of the matrix and the composites were determined by using standard experimental methods. The comparison between modified PR and traditional PR were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the ablative measurement on laminate specimens were tested by using oxyacetylene flame testing. The results showed that the modified PR composites significantly enhanced ablation resistance.