The objective of this proposal is to develop a better low-cost coating system than the state-of-the-art RCG or TUFI coating for light-weight ceramic insulation. The research involves the development of a new, preceramic polymer coating system which may penetrate into the porous ceramic insulation surface so as to enhance the toughness of that surface. This new coating system involves the development of a high-temperature, silicon-carbon-boron-based preceramic polymer by sol-gel techniques, which system may then be used to toughen the surfaces of porous ceramic materials such as Space Shuttle tiles by a simple process: * A number of boron-modified silicon-based preceramic polymers will be synthesized; * Coating of the preceramic polymer matrix on the surfaces of porous ceramic material will be performed; * The toughness of the pyrolyzed composite surfaces will be evaluated.
Potential Commercial Applications:The coating system to be developed in this research should prove to be a superior, low-cost, light-weight, more easily processed, thermal and surface protective system. The new coating system can be used as thermal and impact resistance shields for light-weight ceramic tiles for space vehicles as well as for future commercial spacecraft applications. The high-temperature and high- impact resistance coatings also have numerous applications on Earth, such as enhancing the impact protection of light-weight, porous ceramics for application in the automotive, aviation, public transportation, home and factory construction industries.
