Heat resistance investigation and mechanical properties of fabric coated with Al₂O₃ sol–gel

The Inflatable Reentry and Descent Vehicle is a new kind of ballistic atmospheric entry vehicle which generates a piece of large aerodynamic drag area for deceleration when the resistance cone is deployed by gas-filling expansion. However, the aerothermal heating during planetary entry poses a significant challenge to a flexible fabric. In this paper, the para-aramid fabrics with three different sol–gel coatings (i.e. Al₂O₃ sol coating, supercritical drying Al₂O₃ aerogel coating, and atmospheric pressure drying Al₂O₃ xerogel coating) were proposed for heat resistance analysis and strength analysis. The thermal and mechanical properties of flexible fabric materials were conducted by infrared spectrum analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy analysis, 50s ablation and uniaxial tension testing. All the results indicate that fabric coated with the supercritical drying Al₂O₃ aerogel possesses high heat resistance and nearly 100% residues strengthen.