Test Facilities/Capability for Materials Research

Ablation Research

  • Oxy-acetylene Test Bed (OTB) per ASTM E285 – device capable of simulating hyperthermal environments with a heat flux up to 1,000 W/cm2. Capability of producing reduced, neutral, and an oxidized flame environments. Capability to acquire the in-depth temperature profiles, surface temperature, and evaluate the ablation rate, mass loss, and the post burning morphology of the ablative sample.
  • In-situ Ablation Recession and Thermal Sensing Technology – capable of measuring recession rate and in-depth temperature using ultra-fine thermocouples from 4- to 9-levels for low density to high density ablators (e.g., 0.20 to 1.8 g/cc).
  • Char Strength Sensor – capable of measuring both compressive and shear strength of charred ablatives.

OTB during ablation testing.

Flammability Research

  • UL 94 test per UL 94
  • Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) per ASTM D2863
  • Microscale Combustion Calorimter (MCC) per ASTM D7309-07
  • Cone Calorimeter (CC) per ASTM E1534

Polymer Compounding

  • Thermo Fisher Scientific Process 11 Twin Screw Extruder

  • Thinky® Planetary Mixer

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