Fiber reinforced ceramic glass composites having tailored coefficient of thermal expansion
AssigneeHughes Aircraft Company
InventorsRobert W. Seibold, Bruce W. Buller, James O. Gibson
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Abstract
Improved fiber reinforced composites having near zero coefficients of thermal expansion are described. The improved composites include reinforcing fibers and matrix material in which gap structures which exist within the composite are filled with a bonding agent. The reinforcing fibers can be unidirectionally, bidirectionally or multidirectionally oriented within the matrix material and articles fabricated from the improved composite have reduced coefficients of thermal expansion in directions transverse to the orientations of the fibers. This improvement makes these improved composites useful for fabricating high energy laser mirror substrates.
Claims9
An improved fiber reinforced composite having a reduced coefficient of thermal expansion comprising (A) an initial composite comprising fibers oriented in a glass ceramic matrix material and (B) a sufficient amount of a bonding agent filling gaps between said fibers and said matrix material, said gaps having been formed by the application of pressure and heat to said initial composite, followed by a cooling step.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.