Introduction

Sandwich panel thermal protection system (TPS),  for applications at very high temperatures capable of reducing the temperature by about 1000 ° C in less than 4 cm, integrating the necessary thermal resistance in a single component. Its characteristics of resistance to mechanical loads at very high temperatures make it suitable for use as a thermal protection system with structural functions.

Technical features

The sandwich panel comprises: a lower skin arranged on an internal face of the sandwich panel not exposed to the environment, a central core, an upper skin arranged on an external face of the sandwich panel exposed to the environment, and a surface coating applied to the upper skin configured to protect the upper skin from oxidation. There are prototypes and models of qualification and flight of the invention and it has been validated at the laboratory level and can be placed on the market in about a year. In the known art, the solutions provided, i.e., ablative thermal protections and reusable thermal protections, are reliable if coupled to the supporting structure of the aircraft through rather complex and, consequently, expensive arrangements. Furthermore, the design of these thermal protections does not allow easy access to the supporting structure from the outside, making it necessary to remove the thermal protections to perform any inspection and / or maintenance operations. Limits that this structure exceeds.

Possible Applications

• Space applications for re-entry aircraft;
• Aerospace applications for hypersonic aircraft;
• In nuclear and power plants as a structure resistant to very high temperatures and with electromagnetic shielding characteristics.

Advantages

• Blast chilling of about 1000 ° C in less than 4 cm;
• Very high thermal stability;
• Very high resistance to mechanical loads up to temperatures of over 1300 ° C;
• Exceptional resistance to bending loads.