Deforming Fibrous Insulating Tiles To Fit Curved Surfaces

A curved tile of refractory silica-fiber-based or alumina-fiber-based thermal-insulation material can be formed from an initially flat billet in a process that includes pressing against a curved mold surface during heating. The mold or tile curvature can be concave or convex. Curved tiles are needed for thermal protection of curved surfaces of spacecraft reentering the terrestrial atmosphere; curved thermal-protection tiles may also be useful on Earth in some industrial applications.