You are here

Innovative Joining of Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics (UHTC) for TPS Applications

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Air Force
Contract: FA9550-10-C-0084
Agency Tracking Number: F09B-T24-0179
Amount: $99,998.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: STTR
Solicitation Topic Code: AF09-BT24
Solicitation Number: 2009.B
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2009
Award Year: 2010
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2010-04-15
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2011-01-14
Small Business Information
7800A South Nogales Highway
Tucson, AZ 85756
United States
DUNS: 066066874
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: Yes
Principal Investigator
 Zachary Wing
 Director of Science & Technology
 (520) 547-0861
 zwing@acmtucson.com
Business Contact
 Stephen Turcotte
Title: President
Phone: (520) 547-0850
Email: sturcotte@acmtucson.com
Research Institution
 University of Arizona
 Erica L Corral
 
PO Box 210012 1235 East James E. Rogers Way
Tucson, AZ 85721
United States

 (520) 621-8115
 Nonprofit College or University
Abstract

Ultra High Temperature Ceramics (UHTC’s) such as zirconium and hafnium diboride based composites are of particular interest for hypersonic leading edges due to their extreme refractoriness. Successful integration into hypersonic structures will require high strength / high temperature joints to bond ceramic-ceramic or ceramic-metal that can sustain the mechanical and thermal loadings at speeds of Mach 5+. New materials and UHTC joining technologies are necessary to fully integrate and exploit their high temperature properties in hypersonic vehicles. Bonding materials that are similar to the joining pair materials are desirable to provide the best thermo-mechanical match to bulk materials. Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) has become a novel approach to rapidly consolidate ceramics; however, it could be adapted to rapidly join UHTC pairs. A team comprised of Advanced Ceramics Manufacturing (ACM) and the University of Arizona propose the use of Off Stoichiometric UHTCs and a modified SPS sintering technique to produce a rapidly bonded UHTC-UHTC geometry with properties similar to that of the bulk joining pair. BENEFIT: The technology proposed offers a new material brazing system that will produce joints for UHTCs with properties similar to that of the bulk joining pairs. This will allow better, more complex geometries for thermal protections systems (TPS). The materials can be rapidly bonded using adapted Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) technology which will allow joints to be formed quickly. This joining technology will have commercial applications for turbine engines and commercial space launch vehicles.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

US Flag An Official Website of the United States Government