Tantalum-Based Ceramics for Refractory Composites

A family of tantalum-based ceramics has been invented as ingredients of high-temperature composite insulating tiles. These materials are suitable for coating and/or permeating the outer layers of rigid porous (foamlike or fibrous) ceramic substrates to (1) render the resulting composite ceramic tiles impervious to hot gases and (2) enable the tiles to survive high heat fluxes at temperatures that can exceed 3,000 °F (≈1,600 °C). Originally intended for use on the future space exploration vehicles, insulating tiles made with these materials may also be useful in terrestrial applications (e.g., some industrial processes) in which there are requirements to protect against flows of hot, oxidizing gases.