Method of manufacturing thermal shielding elements for space planes
First Claim
1. A method of manufacturing a thermal shielding element comprising an outer rigid panel made of a thermostructural composite material comprising a fiber reinforcement densified by a refractory matrix material, said panel having an external wall forming an outer wall of the thermal shielding element, and side walls defining with said external wall a recess filled with a thermal insulant, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing a rigid block of thermally insulating material of low density, the block having an outside surface portion whose shape corresponds to an inside surface of the recess formed by the panel,forming a fiber preform by laying a fibrous material on said outside surface portion of the block of insulating material, anddensifying the fiber preform with the refractory matrix material of said thermostructural composite material, using the block of insulating material as a tooling element but without substantially densifying said block of insulating material, whereby a panel of thermostructural composite material is formed directly on the block of insulating material constituting said thermal insulant of the thermal shielding element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A thermal shielding element which includes a hollow rigid panel in the form of a shell made of a thermostructural composite including fiber reinforcement densified by a matrix, and a thermal insulant filling the panel is obtained by making a rigid block (20) of thermally insulating material of low density, the block having an outside surface whose shape corresponds to the shape of an inside surface of the panel, a fiber preform (11) constituting the reinforcement of the composite material is formed on the block of insulating material, and the fiber preform is densified with the material that constitutes the matrix of the composite material.
24 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method of manufacturing a thermal shielding element comprising an outer rigid panel made of a thermostructural composite material comprising a fiber reinforcement densified by a refractory matrix material, said panel having an external wall forming an outer wall of the thermal shielding element, and side walls defining with said external wall a recess filled with a thermal insulant, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a rigid block of thermally insulating material of low density, the block having an outside surface portion whose shape corresponds to an inside surface of the recess formed by the panel, forming a fiber preform by laying a fibrous material on said outside surface portion of the block of insulating material, and densifying the fiber preform with the refractory matrix material of said thermostructural composite material, using the block of insulating material as a tooling element but without substantially densifying said block of insulating material, whereby a panel of thermostructural composite material is formed directly on the block of insulating material constituting said thermal insulant of the thermal shielding element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification