Permeability of Polymer Composites for Cryogenic Applications (Preprint)

摘要

Previous cryogenic cycling research has focused on improving our understanding of the mechanisms that lead to a leakage-producing network of cracks in carbon/epoxy and carbon/bismaleimide composites and to evaluate a number of materials for use in cryogenic pressure vessels. However, the large fuel tanks and other cryogenic components of future reusable launch vehicles may benefit from the use of even higher temperature composite materials through the reduction in the weight of the thermal protection system needed to protect the composite components inside the vehicle. Hence, the current effort investigated two carbon/polymer composites (T650/AFR-PE-4 and T650/BIM-15) with service temperatures considerable greater than for most carbon/epoxy and carbon/bismaelimide composites. Additionally, to determine the effect of a more destructive thermal cycle, T650/AFR-PE-4 samples were also subjected to thermal cycling that included an elevated hold of 315 C.