Pyrolysis front detection in carbon phenolic composites using x-ray computed tomography

Carbon phenolic composites are used as thermal protection systems (TPS) materials on space capsules to protect them from the hot aerothermal environment. The phenolic resin in the composite material decomposes (pyrolyzes) at low temperatures resulting in a pyrolysis front within the material. The detection of the pyrolysis front after exposure to heat has historically been achieved by physically sectioning cross-sections of the material. We combine the phase contrast retrieval method to reconstruct x-ray computed tomography scans along with image convolution to identify the pyrolysis front in carbon phenolic composites. Unlike the standard filtered back projection method that captures only the carbon phase, the phase contrast retrieval method uses both the attenuation coefficients and refractive indices to illuminate all three phases (carbon, resin, and voids) of carbon phenolic composites. Image convolution is applied on scans reconstructed using the phase contrast retrieval method to develop a density map of the composite to locate the pyrolysis front. The analysis is performed on a sample of phenolic impregnated carbon ablator that was tested in an arc-jet facility. For the sample analyzed, the depth of the pyrolysis front from the surface of the sample is calculated to be 2.150 ± 0.148 mm. Although the proposed approach is applied to detect the pyrolysis front, the tools can be used to illuminate the structure of any carbon phenolic composite, and we propose the use of the phase contrast retrieval method as a methodological standard to analyze carbon phenolic composites used on space capsules.