Reusable thermal protection systems (TPS) of atmospheric-reentry vehicles are repeatedly exposed to high-temperature oxidative environments. Such environments induce surface oxidation and micro-scale damage, which can lead to micro-structural changes ...
Reusable thermal protection systems (TPS) of atmospheric-reentry vehicles are repeatedly exposed to high-temperature oxidative environments. Such environments induce surface oxidation and micro-scale damage, which can lead to micro-structural changes and degradation of material properties. Therefore, quantitative evaluation of these changes is essential to ensure the thermal and mechanical safety of reusable TPS materials. In this study, an image-based method using micro-computed tomography (CT) data was established to evaluate the reusability of thermal protection materials (TPMs) under repeated arc-jet exposures. Needle punched-carbon/silicon carbide (NP-C/SiC) composites were subjected to repeated exposure using a 0.4-MW arc-heated wind tunnel at a heat flux of 3.12 MW/m² for ten repetitions of 60 seconds each. Micro-CT data obtained after specific test repetitions were used to quantify depth-dependent variations in porosity, effective thermal conductivity, effective elastic modulus, and failure strength. The results indicated that surface recession and mass loss were negligible. In addition, oxidation-induced porosity increases were confined to a shallow region near the exposed surface. Consequently, effective thermal conductivity, elastic modulus, and failure strength remained unchanged throughout most of the internal region, while local degradation occurred only near the surface. These findings indicate that NP-C/SiC composites maintain structural integrity even under repeated high-temperature exposures. They also suggest that the material has potential for use in reusable TPS applications. The image-based analysis method established in this study was also shown to be an effective and practical quantitative tool for assessing material reusability.