The Boeing Company

Andrea O Barney

Vann Heng

Michael Droege

Bryan Clark Brewer

Claire E Anton

Kris Shigeko Oka

John Stanley Jones

Alfred A Zinn

Bryan Eilertson

Maryann Santos

Charles A Whittington

John Crumpler

Zenon Siminski

A hybrid insulation material comprises of porous ceramic substrate material impregnated with nanoporous material and method of making the same is the topic of this invention. The porous substrate material has bulk density ranging from 6 to 20 lb/ft and is composed of about 60 to 80 wt % silica (SiO ) 20 to 40 wt % alumina (Al O ) fibers, and with about 0.1 to 1.0 wt % boron-containing constituent as the sintering agent. The nanoporous material has density ranging from 1.0 to 10 lb/ft and is either fully or partially impregnated into the substrate to block the pores, resulting in substantial reduction in conduction via radiation and convention. The nanoporous material used to impregnate the fiber substrate is preferably formed from a precursor of alkoxysilane, alcohol, water, and an acid or base catalyst for silica aerogels, and from a precursor of aluminum alkoxide, alcohol, water, and an acid or base catalyst for alumina aerogels.

Hybrid aerogel rigid ceramic fiber insulation and method of producing same

The conformal thermal insulating blanket may have generally rigid batting material covered by an outer insulating layer formed of a high temperature resistant woven ceramic material and an inner insulating layer formed of a woven ceramic fiber material. The batting and insulating layers may be fastened together by sewing or stitching using an outer mold layer thread fabricated of a high temperature resistant material and an inner mold layer thread of a ceramic fiber material. The batting may be formed to a composite structure that may have a firmness factor sufficient to inhibit a pillowing effect after the stitching to not more than 0.03 inch. The outer insulating layer and an upper portion of the batting adjacent the outer insulating layer may be impregnated with a ceramic coating material.

Thermal insulating conformal blanket

A highly abrasion resistant and durable, low density ablator composition is provided that comprises a base silicone resin, silica microballoons as a filler, a catalyst, and a thinning fluid to control the viscosity of the base silicone resin. The density of the resulting composition is approximately 0.32 g/cc yet the composition has excellent abrasion resistance. Furthermore, the ratio of filler to base silicone resin, by weight, is approximately 0.91. The ablator composition is also RF (radio frequency) transparent, moisture resistant, and low cost. Methods of mixing the ablator composition and forming ablative structures are also provided.

Low density ablator composition

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Bedford, MA, United States of America

Andrea O Barney