What material properties are desireable for heat shields,such as those placed on the space shuttle?
2007-01-26 22:59:18 · 2 answers · asked by flying0633 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
Density- the material should be light weight so as not to add too much weight and prevent the shuttle from lifting off safely
Strength- the material should be strong enough to withstand all loads due to impact, acceleration, etc.
Low heat conductance- so that it is difficult for heat to transfer through the material- this could also be stated as high "R" or resistance value. this allows the temperature difference on each side to be much greater.
2007-01-27 04:51:11 · answer #1 · answered by MrWiz 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I saw in one magazine some time ago that they part od the heat shield of the space shuttle was made of a special brazilian refractory stone.
2007-01-26 23:09:57 · answer #2 · answered by pharmaeng 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋