Fuzzy fibers of silicon carbide can make rocket engines stronger, lighter and better able to withstand extreme heat
by noreply@blogger.com (brian wang) from NextBigFuture.com on (#2HNG3)
Rice University laboratory of materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan, in collaboration with NASA, has developed "fuzzy fibers" of silicon carbide that act like Velcro and stand up to the punishment that materials experience in aerospace applications.
The fibers strengthen composites used in advanced rocket engines that have to withstand temperatures up to 1,600 degrees Celsius (2,912 degrees Fahrenheit). Ceramic composites in rockets now being developed use silicon carbide fibers to strengthen the material, but they can crack or become brittle when exposed to oxygen.
The Rice lab embedded silicon carbide nanotubes and nanowires into the surface of NASA's fibers. The exposed parts of the fibers are curly and act like the hooks and loops that make Velcro so valuable - but on the nanoscale.
The result, according to lead researchers Amelia Hart, a Rice graduate student, and Chandra Sekhar Tiwary, a Rice postdoctoral associate, creates very strong interlocking connections where the fibers tangle; this not only makes the composite less prone to cracking but also seals it to prevent oxygen from changing the fiber's chemical composition.
Silicon carbide nanotubes attached to separate silicon carbide fibers, used by NASA, entangle each other in this electron microscope image. The material created at Rice University is intended for a ceramic composite that would make rocket engines stronger, lighter and better able to withstand extreme heat.
Journal Applied Materials and Interfaces - Velcro(R)-Inspired SiC Fuzzy Fibers for Aerospace Applications
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The fibers strengthen composites used in advanced rocket engines that have to withstand temperatures up to 1,600 degrees Celsius (2,912 degrees Fahrenheit). Ceramic composites in rockets now being developed use silicon carbide fibers to strengthen the material, but they can crack or become brittle when exposed to oxygen.
The Rice lab embedded silicon carbide nanotubes and nanowires into the surface of NASA's fibers. The exposed parts of the fibers are curly and act like the hooks and loops that make Velcro so valuable - but on the nanoscale.
The result, according to lead researchers Amelia Hart, a Rice graduate student, and Chandra Sekhar Tiwary, a Rice postdoctoral associate, creates very strong interlocking connections where the fibers tangle; this not only makes the composite less prone to cracking but also seals it to prevent oxygen from changing the fiber's chemical composition.
Silicon carbide nanotubes attached to separate silicon carbide fibers, used by NASA, entangle each other in this electron microscope image. The material created at Rice University is intended for a ceramic composite that would make rocket engines stronger, lighter and better able to withstand extreme heat.Journal Applied Materials and Interfaces - Velcro(R)-Inspired SiC Fuzzy Fibers for Aerospace Applications
Read more