Design, Fabrication, and Application of Thermostructural Composites (TSC) like C/C, C/SiC, and SiC/SiC Composites

The French company Snecma Moteurs is a leading producer of high‐performance composites for operation under high mechanical stress and at high temperature, such as in jet engines, aircraft brake disks, or even rocket propulsion systems. The author presents the different families and generations of carbon‐carbon and ceramic‐matrix composites developed by Snecma, and discusses their manufacture and characteristics. The main features of thermostructural composites (TSCs) are their highly specific mechanical properties, high thermal conductivity, excellent behavior to thermal shocks; endurance to very high temperature, and easy fabrication. In this paper, the design, fabrication, and application of ceramic matrix composites are reviewed with special emphasis on applications for solid rocket propulsion, liquid rocket propulsion, brake yields, and jet engines.