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Completed TRL 4 (started at 3, targeting 4)
Bally Ribbon Mills (BRM), in partnership with NASA Ames Research Center, will perform thermal testing in the NASA Ames arc jet facility on the novel Spider-weave seamless Adaptive Deployable Entry system (ADEPT) carbon fabric aeroshell. The spider woven fabrication approach will be produced as part of an on-going SBIR Phase II contract (80NSSC18C0041 Novel Spider 3D Woven Seamless ADEPT Aero-Shell) on standard electronic jacquard shuttle looms at the BRM facility. The spiderweave technique results in a seam-less aeroshell structure with the same SWA weave architecture, fabric construction, and fiber orientation except continuous fill fibers connecting each gore in a spider web pattern.
A brief summary of the scope of this ACO effort is as follows:
• BRM provides carbon fabric aeroshells in the Spider-Woven gore construct
• NASA Ames integrates and instruments carbon fabric aeroshells.
• Complete pre-test characterization of arc jet coupons prior to thermal testing.
• Arcjet testing is executed and aeroshell thermal performance is measured.
• Complete post-test characterization of arc jet coupons
The Spiderweave ACO task is primarily focused on extending the technology maturity of the Spiderweave aeroshell. The original SBIR Phase II (2018-2020) was limited to a manufacturing demonstration of Spiderweave. The ACO task sought to extend this further by testing the Spiderweave aeroshell in relevant environments (aerothermal heating similar to Mars entry) and quantification of residual strength of the aeroshell. Quantifying the strength of the aeroshell post-heating is of particular importance as the ADEPT decelerator has to survive not only high temperature environments experienced during hypersonic planetary entry, but also the induced tension and pressure loads that need to be carried by ADEPT during entry.
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