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A method is presented for determining the recombination efficiency of coatings for hypersonic vehicle applications. The approach uses experimental results from arc-jet tests with an analysis to determine the efficiency for the recombination of atomic species present in the boundary layer. The analysis employs analytical solutions to the laminar boundary-layer heat-transfer equations with experimental heating-rate, temperature, and pressure measurements. The authors discuss experimental difficulties in achieving reliable materials-performance data. The utility of the method is that it provides a rapid and efficient tool for use in qualitative screening and development of materials. The effects of second-order heat-transfer terms may be as high as 50% for low-catalysis surfaces. With the second-order terms included, the maximum uncertainty in recombination-efficiency data for low-catalysis surfaces is 45%. The discussions are based on experimental data and calculations for arc-jet tests of the titanium alloy Ti-14Al-21Nb with a borosilicate-like glass coating that has a recombination efficiency of about 0.006 to 0.01. 20 refs.

Use is made of the thermogravimetric-analysis method to ascertain the hydrogen-transport characteristics of the Timetal-21S beta-Ti alloy, at pressures of up to 50 torr over the 400-800 C temperature range. Hydrogen solubility is found to be high; the equilibrium hydrogen concentration is noted to deviate from Sievert's law at higher pressures. These deviations are likely associated with hydrogen-induced microstructural changes in the alloy, and the kinetics of hydrogen uptake reflect these changes.

Results are presented from an AES investigation of the surface characteristics of pure Ti, Ti-14Al-21Nb (alpha-2 aluminide), and Ti-33Al-6Nb-1.4Ta (gamma aluminide) under ultrahigh vacuum conditions over the 20-1000 C temperature range. The observed variations in surface composition are noted to be dramatic and indicative of a direct relationship between the amount of retained oxygen and carbon on the surface and the quantity of Al in that surface's vicinity. While TiO2 was the main surface oxide for pure Ti and the alpha-2 and gamma aluminides, only metallic peaks were observable at 600 C; at 1000 C, metallic Al and Ti were observed.

The effect of temperature, at conditions of ultrahigh vacuum, on the surface composition of the Ti-14Al-21Nb (in wt pct) alloy was investigated in samples heated to 1000 C in 100 C increments. Results of AES spectroscopy revealed that the Ti-14Al-21Nb alloy surface is extremely sensitive to temperature. At 300 C, the carbon and oxygen began to rapidly dissolve into the alloy, and at 600 C, bulk S segregated to the surface. The variation in the surface composition was extensive and different over the temperature range studied, indicating that there may be substantial changes in the hydrogen transport.

CVD coatings of boron-oxygen-silicon and aluminum-boron-oxygen and silicon compositions were applied to alpha 2 and gamma titanium-aluminide alloys, and tested under simulated earth reentry conditions to evaluate oxidation protection, recombination effifiency and total emittance under cyclic exposures between temperatures of 300 and 1255 K. The degree of oxidation protection afforded to the alloys was evaluated from the amount of specimen weight gain after a 100 hour exposure to air at atmospheric pressure and at a temperature of 1255 K. Data are presented for two types of coatings, a monolithic and a multilayer, which have recombination efficiencies from 0.005 to 0.020 after ten one-half hour long simulated reentry cycles. Total normal emittance was 0.80 or greater and weight gain was less than 10 g/sq m both coating types. Compositional and morphological changes resulting from the exposures are discussed in relation to time-dependent variations in recombination efficiency.

Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo titanium alloy is a candidate material for multiwall thermal protection system concepts for advanced space transportation system vehicles. The total oxidation kinetics for this alloy, exposed to laboratory air in the 593–760°C range, were monitored by thermogravimetric analysis. The oxide thickness was measured by microscopy and the substrate contamination was estimated from microhardness measurements. Tensile elongation was determined for selected foil specimens after exposure to simulated space shuttle reentry conditions. The variation of total weight gain with time was found to have two distinct parabolic stages separated by a transient region. This transient was due to a process which involved an increase in the parabolic growth rate constant for the oxide and a simultaneous increase in oxygen solubility at the oxide metal interface. The time dependent increase in oxygen solubility at the interface was from about 7 at. % in stage 1 to about 18 at. % in stage 2. The diffusion coefficient for oxygen in the alloy was determined as a function of temperature using the difference between the total weight gain in stage 1 and the corresponding weight gain due to oxide growth. A model for the total oxidation kinetics, accounting for the two individual components namely oxide growth and solid solution formation, is proposed. The activation energy for the diffusion of oxygen in the alpha-solid solution is shown to be roughly equal to the activation energy for the degradation of tensile elongation for the alloy in the foil gage condition.

The viability of using coated Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo foils at 620°C in air was established through mechanical and thermogravimetric testing. Weight-grained and oxygen embrittlement were significantly reduced by the coatings. The residual tensile elongation of coated specimens was 2.5 times that of uncoated specimens. Comparison depth-profiling with X-ray diffraction verified the reduction of oxygen solid-solution in the α-phase for a selection of coated specimens.

Because of the loss of ductility with exposure to oxidizing conditions, long time applications of titanium alloys have been limited to temperatures below 700 K and short time applications have been limited to temperatures below 815 K. Oxygen barrier coatings for shielding Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo alloy from oxidation during exposure to high temperatures were studied using foil gage specimens. The coatings included micrometer-thick sputtered SiO2 and chemical-vapor-deposited silicate layers both with and without an aluminum basecoat. The oxidation rates and resistance to embrittlement of the coated specimens were significantly better than those of the uncoated specimens.