Chinese scientists create new porous ceramic that could be used in hypersonic aircraft
- Researchers from university in southern China say their material has high mechanical strength and thermal insulation properties
- That makes it suitable for use in extreme conditions, and it may have applications in aerospace, energy and chemical engineering
Chinese scientists say they have developed a porous ceramic material with the high mechanical strength and thermal insulation needed for aerospace applications.
Porous ceramic materials are increasingly sought after for thermal insulation given their combination of being lightweight, chemically inert and having low thermal conductivity – meaning they are good insulators.
But achieving both high mechanical strength and thermal insulation in porous ceramics is challenging. That is because when more pores are introduced to the material to increase thermal insulation, it typically results in significantly reduced mechanical strength.
There can also be shrinkage and degradation of strength when conventional porous materials are put under high temperatures, meaning they would be no good for aerospace applications.
But the new ceramic, developed by a team at the Guangzhou university’s School of Materials Science and Engineering, has a multiscale structural design they say overcomes these limitations. They reported their study in peer-reviewed journal Advanced Materials on January 2.