Introduction to C3HARME project

High-speed aviation brings many challenges, one being the materials used ensure the aircraft and rockets travelling at hypersonic speed arrive at their destination safely. Control surfaces and thermal protection systems for vehicles flying at Mach 5 or above must withstand extremely hot temperatures and intense mechanical vibrations at launch, during cruising and re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. UHTCMCs (Ultra-High Temperature Ceramic Matrix Composites) belong to a new subclass of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) with superior properties in terms of structural and chemical stability at elevated temperature and erosion/ablation resistance keeping excellent strength-to-weight ratio, thermal shock resistance and adequate damage tolerance. They are the latest potential candidates for thermal protection systems (TPSs), able to outperform bulk ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs). CHARME is a 4-years EU funded program involving 12 European partners from 6 countries focused on the design, fabrication and testing of UHTCMCs for near-zero erosion nozzles and near-zero ablation TPS tiles. Charme will look at different technologies coming from the science of bulk ceramics and CMCs and combine them to find out new approaches for their manufacturing. Novel theoretical models and testing methodologies are necessary to characterize properly these materials. This talk will summarize some of the findings and advances of the program, with special emphasis on the innovative approaches that we have implemented.