Investigation of the Effect of Reinforcement on Thermo-Physical Properties of Ablative Heat Shields

In the present study, in order to choose the suitable heat shields a comprehensive investigation was performed. Therefore, different properties of each type of heat shields including ablative and thermo-physical properties were measured separately. Finally, the obtained properties were compared. The studied heat shields are phenolic resin composite reinforced by ceramic, asbestos AAA and C cloths. The experimental investigations consist of oxyacetylene standard flame test, specific heat capacity, thermal analysis and thermal conductivity. In addition, in order to compare the thermal efficiency of mentioned heat shields, the temperature on the back surface of each sample subjected to constant heat flux was measured. The results showed that the specimen with 8 mm thickness reinforced with ceramic cloth, which was subjected to 2500 kW.m-2, reduced the temperature from 1550 to 100oC. Therefore, the phenolic composite containing ceramic cloth is the best option.