The Influence of Metal Reinforcement upon the Ablative Properties of Multi-Layered Composites

Fibre-metal laminates combine both the properties of metal and composite materials, reinforced with fibres; first such laminates already appeared at the end of the 70s. Alongside with the emergence of spacecraft, in which the external plating heats up to temperatures even exceeding 3000 °C, there was a demand for new materials, with increased thermal resistance. Moreover, high thermal resistance is also required in the construction of different protective casings for sensitive equipment, e.g. flight data recorders. In order to protect a spacecraft from massive amounts of heat This article presents research findings, aimed at determining the influence of including metal reinforcement in the form of steel sheet upon the thermal resistance of a multi-layered polymer composite. The samples were exposed to a mixture of hot gases at a temperature of over 900 °C for a period of approximately 150 s. The most important parameter determined on the basis of experimental research was the temperature of the rear surface of the sample. It was observed, that the addition of metal reinforcement causes stabilization of the temperature of the back wall of the sample and a decrease in temperature of the rear wall surface of the insulating sample by approximately 45% and approximately 2-fold increase in the ablative mass loss.