Flexible Thermal Protection Systems
Capability Description: These thin sheets can be fabricated as either PSC-10 or UHT-21 and exhibit a bend radius as small as 3.5”. Flex sheets can be stacked to build up the thickness while retaining their flexibility or used individually as skins. Additionally, flex stacks can be fabricated in complex geometries to ensure complete nesting of the individual sheets in the final component.
Key Features:
- Individual flex sheets are 0.015” thick
- Available in PSC-10 or UHT-21 system
- Bend radii down to 3.5” with no cyclic fatigue for thousands of cycles
- Thermal performance equivalent to PSI’s monolithic CMCs
- Fully processed sheets can be stacked to build thickness without loss of flexibility
- Can be fabricated in complex geometries
Stack in H₂/O₂ Torch Test
The video to the right shows a ½” stack of ten flex sheets (6 PSC-10 with 2 UHT-21 on each face, top and bottom) in an actuating H₂O₂ torch rig at Teledyne Scientific, one of our testing partners. This video was taken after 20 minutes exposure at ~3400°F to pure water vapor. The stack remains flexible through the duration of the test.
Stack in H₂/O₂ Torch test