Unconventional Processing of Ultra-high Temperature Ceramics

Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics (UHTCs) are promising materials that can withstand extreme environments during service applications in the aerospace and aeronautic industry. At the Plasma Forming Lab (PFL), researchers are working on the recent advancement towards developing next generation of UHTC’s with superior thermo-mechanical performance compared to conventional UHTCs. The next generation unconventional processing of UHTCs includes high-entropy UHTCs (HE-UHTCs), UHTC coatings, UHTC foams, Filler-less Joining of UHTCs, UHTC decorated carbon nanofibers, and 3D printing of UHTCs. Space exploration will have to be reusable, that is one of the main goals on the development of unconventional UHTC. With new UHTC’s that will be able to stand multiple re-entries from orbital speeds to our atmosphere, man will be able to accelerate space exploration due to the reduction in resources needed to keep exploring.