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To: hopespringseternal
RCC is, BTW, no substitute for insulation of some sort, so, you still need to come up with what might be called the system solution that also meets the requirements for light-weight in the design goal ...

From the Space Shuttle handbook:

The RCC panels are mechanically attached to the wing with a series of floating joints to reduce loading on the panels caused by wing deflections. The seal between each wing leading edge panel is referred to as a T-seal. The T-seals allow for lateral motion and thermal expansion differences between the RCC and the orbiter wing. In addition, they prevent the direct flow of hot boundary layer gases into the wing leading edge cavity during entry. The T-seals are constructed of RCC.

Since carbon is a good thermal conductor, the adjacent aluminum and the metallic attachments must be protected from exceeding temperature limits by internal insulation. Inconel 718 and A-286 fittings are bolted to flanges on the RCC components and are attached to the aluminum wing spars and nose bulkhead. Inconel-covered cerachrome insulation protects the metallic attach fittings and spar from the heat radiated from the inside surface of the RCC wing panels.

The nose cap thermal insulation ues a blanket made from ceramic fibers and filled with silica fibers. HRSI or FRCI tiles are used to protect the forward fuselage from the heat radiated from the hot inside surface of the RCC.


38 posted on 02/04/2003 10:58:10 AM PST by _Jim (//NASA has a better safety record than NASCAR\\)
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To: _Jim
RCC is, BTW, no substitute for insulation of some sort

Neither is titanium. If you aren't going to go with a hot structure, the difference is that the insulation is only exposed to thermal loads rather than aerodynamic loads.

44 posted on 02/04/2003 11:34:05 AM PST by hopespringseternal
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