US3724386A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Ablative nose tips and method for their manufacture
Assignee: United States Department of the Air Force
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Filing: 1970-06-24
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Granted: 1973-04-03
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Expires: 1990-06-24
Abstract
Abstract An ablative nose tip assembly is produced by fabricating a nose tip comprising a rod having one of its ends flared so as to form a round, arcuate cap, inserting the rod into one end of an elongated housing so that the flared end of the rod seats in a correspondingly flared recess in the end of the housing, and locking the rod in position in the housing. The rod is composed of an unidirectional filament reinforced plastic or carbonaceous matrix composite while the housing is comprised of a fiber reinforced resin composite or a fiber reinforced pyrolyzed matrix composite. The nose tip assembly is dimensionally stable, rendering it useful in high speed aerospace vehicles subjected to intense aerodynamic heating and stagnation pressures during passage through a planetary atmosphere.
Inventors
- 👤 D Schmidt
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 12:45
CPC Classifications
F; F42; F42B; F42B10/00; F42B10/32; F42B10/38; F42B10/42; F42B10/46; B; B64; B64G; B64G1/00; B64G1/22; B64G1/52; B64G1/58
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
30 words
A nose tip according to claim 1 in which said filaments are formed of a material selected from the group consisting of quartz, carbon, graphite glass, silica and boron nitride.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
38 words
A nose tip according to claim 2 in which said matrix material is selected from the group consisting of chemically vapor deposited carbon or graphite, phenol-formaldehyde resin, polybenzimidazole resin, polyimide resin, graphitized phenol-formaldehyde, graphitized polybenzimidazole and graphitized polyimide.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
A nose tip according to claim 3 in which said matrix comprises from 20 to 50 weight percent of said rod-shaped composite and said wedge-shaped composite.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
158 words
A nose tip assembly suitable for use in high speed flight through a planetary atmosphere comprising an elongated housing having an upstream end and a downstream end; a passageway formed in said housing so that its longitudinal axis substantially coincides with the longitUdinal axis of said housing; a rod-shaped composite of unidirectional filaments substantially parallel to each other and for a substantial portion of the length thereof oriented substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said passageway, said filaments being bound together with a matrix material and said rod-shaped composite being fixedly positioned in said passageway; and at least one wedge-shaped composite of unidirectional filaments substantially parallel to each other and bound together with a matrix material, said wedge-shaped composite being disposed in one end of said rod-shaped composite so as to flare said end and form a round arcuate cap, said flared end being seated in a correspondingly shaped recess in the upstream end of said housing.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
113 words
A nose tip assembly according to claim 5 in which said passageway has an upstream portion having a smaller diameter than a downstream portion; said rod-shaped composite is positioned in said upstream portion of said passageway with its end extending into said downstream portion; locking means is attached to said end extending into said downstream portion; insulation material surrounds said locking means; a heavy metal ballast is disposed in said downstream portion of said passageway and abutting said end of rod member extending thereinto; and a structural shell is positioned in said downstream portion of said passageway downstream of said ballast, said shell being attached to said ballast and wall of said passageway.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
66 words
A nose tip assembly according to claim 5 in which said filaments are formed of a material selected from the group consisting of quartz, carbon, graphite, glass, silica and boron nitride and in which said matrix material is selected from the group consisting of chemically vapor deposited carbon or graphite, phenol-formaldehyde resin, polybenzimidazole resin, polyimide resin, graphitized phenol-formaldehyde resin, graphitized polybenzimidazole resin and graphitized polyimide resin.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
71 words
A nose tip assembly according to claim 5 in which said housing comprises (a) fabric or fiber reinforcement selected from the group consisting of quartz, carbon and graphite, said reinforcement being oriented substantially perpendicular to surfaces of said housing; and (2) a matrix material selected from the group consisting chemically vapor deposited carbon or graphite, phenol-formaldehyde resin, polybenzimidazole resin, polyimide resin, graphitized phenol-formaldehyde resin, graphitized polybenzimidazole resin, and graphitized polyimide resin.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
36 words
A nose tip assembly according to claim 5 in which the sides of the end of the rod-shaped composite are flared at an angle of about 40* to 50* with the axis of the rod-shaped composite.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-04-02 | 1976-10-02 | 1977-04-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-04-02 | 1980-10-02 | 1981-04-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-04-02 | 1984-10-02 | 1985-04-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |