JOINING METHODS FOR CARBON-CARBON COMPOSITE STRUCTURES

Abstract

High temperature carbon-carbon composites (C-C) are increasingly used in both aerospace and commercial products. Hypersonic missiles, reusable reentry vehicles such as the space shuttle and National Aerospace Plane, aircraft brakes, and hot section jet engine components are a few examples. As costs decline with increasing volume usage, C-C will find other applications, such as biomedical products. For the present and near future, major applications will be for high temperature structures operating at temperatures above 2,000 F A problem with composites of any type, polymeric as well as C-C, is finding efficient ways for their structural attachment. This is particularly difficult for elevated temperature C-C structures. Metal fasteners have been used in some designs. In applications where weight and resistance to hypersonic loads are critical, fasteners are often only a marginal solution. Materials Innovation Laboratories (MIL) has developed a family of joining techniques for C-C- This technology is new and mechanical property data is not yet available, although optical metallography and SEM examinations indicate that the joint properties should be adequate for use in several aerospace applications.