Re:SpaceX receives FAA approval for return to flight [pdf]
by toss1 on Friday January 06, 2017 @07:12PM
(#13341533)
Not entirely wrong.
As noted earlier by schiffern, charcoal has a huge surface area, and carbon fiber has a different structure with much less surface area.
But, I'd still expect it to burn very nicely in the presence of concentrated oxygen.
Carbon fiber, is solid fibers about 5-7 microns thick and of arbitrary length. The fiber is embedded in a matrix, typically of epoxy. A typical ratio for a high-performance part would be about 64% carbon fiber and 36% epoxy. If built properly, the epoxy or other matrix material will completely encapsulate the carbon, including a thin coating on the surfaces.
That said, the first thing I'd want to do in the presence of 100% liquid oxygen is to coat the entire carbon composite to ensure that the composite and the oxygen stay apart. The epoxy itself is an organic compound, and the thickness of the coating is at most a few hundred microns (you have to be very careful sanding the surface to prep it for a more durable coating, or you'll get into the carbon).
Source: I'm a carbon fiber designer and fabricator.
As noted earlier by schiffern, charcoal has a huge surface area, and carbon fiber has a different structure with much less surface area.
But, I'd still expect it to burn very nicely in the presence of concentrated oxygen.
Carbon fiber, is solid fibers about 5-7 microns thick and of arbitrary length. The fiber is embedded in a matrix, typically of epoxy. A typical ratio for a high-performance part would be about 64% carbon fiber and 36% epoxy. If built properly, the epoxy or other matrix material will completely encapsulate the carbon, including a thin coating on the surfaces.
That said, the first thing I'd want to do in the presence of 100% liquid oxygen is to coat the entire carbon composite to ensure that the composite and the oxygen stay apart. The epoxy itself is an organic compound, and the thickness of the coating is at most a few hundred microns (you have to be very careful sanding the surface to prep it for a more durable coating, or you'll get into the carbon).
Source: I'm a carbon fiber designer and fabricator.