Method of making a carbon-carbon composite with internal microchannels
Methods of making a carbon-carbon composite structure with internal microchannels include (i) assembling a dry carbon fiber composite preform with a sacrificial template woven or placed within to form a primary assembly; (ii) placing the primary assembly under a sealed enclosure; (iii) applying a vacuum to the sealed enclosure to evacuate air from the dry carbon fiber composite preform; (iv) infusing a polymer resin into the dry carbon fiber composite preform to generate a resin infused preform; (v) heating the resin infused preform under vacuum to cure the polymer resin in the resin infused preform to form a cured composite; (vi) demolding the cured composite; and (vii) heating the cured composite to an elevated temperature of at least 800° C. under a flow of an inert gas to decompose the sacrificial template to form the internal microchannels and carbonize the cured composite to form the carbon-carbon composite structure.
1 . A carbon-carbon composite cooling structure comprising:
a carbon-carbon composite comprising microchannels extending in a continuous manner from a first end of the carbon-carbon composite to a second end of the carbon-carbon composite; and
a cooling fluid,
wherein the carbon-carbon composite cooling structure is integrated into the surface structure of a hypersonic vehicle,
wherein the cooling fluid comprises a fuel utilized for operation of the hypersonic vehicle; and
wherein the cooling fluid is flowed through the microchannels in a convective cooling process.
2 . The carbon-carbon composite cooling structure of claim 1 , wherein the microchannels have a longest cross-sectional dimension of 100 to 2000 microns.
3 . The carbon-carbon composite cooling structure of claim 1 , wherein the microchannels form up to 50% of a total cross section of the carbon-carbon composite structure.
4 . The carbon-carbon composite cooling structure of claim 3 , wherein the microchannels form 10% to 50% of the total cross section of the carbon-carbon composite structure.
5 . The carbon-carbon composite cooling structure of claim 1 , wherein the microchannels are interconnected to form a porous network of pathways through an interior of the carbon-carbon composite cooling structure.
6 . The carbon-carbon composite cooling structure of claim 1 , wherein the cooling fluid comprises a liquid.
7 . The carbon-carbon composite cooling structure of claim 1 , wherein the cooling fluid comprises a gas.
8 . The carbon-carbon composite cooling structure of claim 1 , wherein the cooling fluid comprises JP-10 fuel.
9 . The carbon-carbon composite cooling structure of claim 1 , wherein the carbon-carbon composite has been densified with repeated infusion and carbonization of a polymer resin into the carbon-carbon composite.
10 . The carbon-carbon composite cooling structure of claim 1 , wherein the microchannels comprise a circular profile.
11 . The carbon-carbon composite cooling structure of claim 1 , wherein the microchannels comprise an oval profile.
12 . The carbon-carbon composite cooling structure of claim 1 , wherein the microchannels comprise a polygonal profile.