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Testing a Novel Geopolymer Binder as a Refractory Material for Rocket Plume Environments at SSC Project

Metadata Updated: April 10, 2025

<p>The project involved the development and testing of a new alumina-silicate based multi-purpose, cost-effective, &lsquo;green&rsquo; cementitious binder (geopolymer) capable of acting as a high performance refractory material with both a low ablation rate and a high early mechanical strength. This work was built upon previous research undertaken by the research team in the areas of geopolymer binders. Full scale and laboratory controlled tests were performed to compare geopolymer performance to currently available commercial products (e.g. Sentinel, Greencast). Geopolymer&rsquo;s thermal shock resistance properties were tested on eleven different fly ash stockpiles specimens from around the world. The geopolymer specimens were subjected to ASTM C-1100 (Standard Test Method for Ribbon Thermal Shock Testing of Refractory Materials). Samples were subjected to incremental 5-5-5-15-30 second flame exposure durations and to a 15 or 30 accumulated exposure, depending on the sample performance (e.g., if the plume became detached). Field test durations were limited to prevent excessive erosion of the test panels and subsequent plume detachment. Laboratory testing also demonstrated that geopolymer could withstand thermal shock and exposure to flame. Additionally, a computational model was created to determine the optimal chemical ratios for geopolymer to be exposed to elevated temperatures. Additionally, due to their excellent adhesion to pre-existing surfaces geopolymer binders were proven to be good candidates for use in repair of existing structures upon which they were applied and retrofitted; this was demonstrated and observed via tests conducted on repaired tested panels. Overall, the demonstration testing program revealed that the geopolymer products had equal or superior performance compared to commercial refractories currently used by NASA.</p>

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

References

http://techport.nasa.gov/home
http://techport.nasa.gov/doc/home/TechPort_Advanced_Search.pdf
http://techport.nasa.gov/fetchFile?objectId=6561
http://techport.nasa.gov/fetchFile?objectId=3456
http://techport.nasa.gov/fetchFile?objectId=3447
http://techport.nasa.gov/fetchFile?objectId=6584
http://techport.nasa.gov/fetchFile?objectId=6560
http://techport.nasa.gov/fetchFile?objectId=3448

Dates

Metadata Created Date November 12, 2020
Metadata Updated Date April 10, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from NASA Data.json

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date November 12, 2020
Metadata Updated Date April 10, 2025
Publisher Space Technology Mission Directorate
Maintainer
Identifier TECHPORT_10599
Data First Published 2012-07-01
Data Last Modified 2025-03-31
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 026:00
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id b1b4be8c-3009-466a-bfda-9d00ee977eb4
Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
Homepage URL http://techport.nasa.gov/view/10599
Program Code 026:000
Related Documents http://techport.nasa.gov/home, http://techport.nasa.gov/doc/home/TechPort_Advanced_Search.pdf, http://techport.nasa.gov/fetchFile?objectId=6561, http://techport.nasa.gov/fetchFile?objectId=3456, http://techport.nasa.gov/fetchFile?objectId=3447, http://techport.nasa.gov/fetchFile?objectId=6584, http://techport.nasa.gov/fetchFile?objectId=6560, http://techport.nasa.gov/fetchFile?objectId=3448
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash a0fe8f3ce88d7b6feda33372e1a9c372a49816179d1a429d0c64cf230490cb59
Source Schema Version 1.1
Temporal 2012-07-01T00:00:00Z/2013-06-01T00:00:00Z

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