Page "Materials science" Paragraph 29

Another application of material science in industry is the making of composite materials.

Composite materials are structured materials composed of two or more macroscopic phases.

Applications range from structural elements such as steel-reinforced concrete, to the thermally insulative tiles which play a key and integral role in NASA's Space Shuttle thermal protection system which is used to protect the surface of the shuttle from the heat of re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

One example is reinforced Carbon-Carbon ( RCC ), The light gray material which withstands re-entry temperatures up to 1510 ° C ( 2750 ° F ) and protects the Space Shuttle's wing leading edges and nose cap.

RCC is a laminated composite material made from graphite rayon cloth and impregnated with a phenolic resin.

After curing at high temperature in an autoclave, the laminate is pyrolized to convert the resin to carbon, impregnated with furfural alcohol in a vacuum chamber, and cured / pyrolized to convert the furfural alcohol to carbon.

In order to provide oxidation resistance for reuse capability, the outer layers of the RCC are converted to silicon carbide.