"Chuck Stewart" wrote in
news
On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 02:52:22 +0000, Derek Lyons wrote:

"Paul F. Dietz" wrote:

Chuck Stewart wrote:

And any "foam" behind [the RCC] would
conduct the heat even faster than the void that is currently behind
the leading edges.

greetings...

It seems to me that if the leading edge had some physical backup, it might
withstand abuse a bit better.
I wonder if the ceramic tile material would work? Use the rcc outer, with
tile underneath?
Certainly it would be damaged by a major strike, but might still bring the
bird home...

That carbon aerogel sounds like great stuff, but I ddin't see structural
data on it. (ok, didn't look that hard)

It seems to me, that a big thing is to prevent any plasma leakage from
penetrating the main wing. Maybe the carbon aerogel would slow the flow and
diffuse it enough to keep things alive?
regards
Jay