Support for thermally expanding conical heatshield

摘要

The front end of a conical forward carbon-carbon heatshield is attached to carbon-carbon nose tip by a threaded connection. The nose tip provides rigid structural support for the small end of the heatshield at all conditions of thermal expansion. The joint between the aft end of the forward heatshield and the forward end of an aft carbon-phenolic heatshield includes a tolerance gap which is tapered to accommodate the vector movement of the carbon-carbon heatshield due to axial and circumferential thermal expansion. The gap is filled with a high temperature insulating washer of frangible material which is crushed by the axial expansion of the forward heatshield and evacuated by the slip-stream. The forward heatshield is supported at the joint by a segmented ring of high density carbon wedges that will expand during flight and move with the heatshield along an expansion ramp to provide continuous support.