Talk:Reinforced carbon-carbon

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75.41.252.208 22:24, 25 September 2006 (UTC)Reinforced carbon-carbon is also used in aircraft brake discs. Is there a difference between this rather more common material and maunafacturing process and that of the space shuttle TPS?

[edit] Speedy conclusions

Carbon-carbon is well-suited to structural applications at high temperatures, or where thermal shock resistance and/or a low coefficient of thermal expansion is needed. While it is less brittle than many other ceramics, it lacks impact resistance; Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed after one of its RCC panels was broken by the impact of a piece of foam insulation from the Space Shuttle External Tank. This was a catastrophic failure partly because original shuttle design requirements did not consider such a violent impact to be likely.

I think that this paragraph suggests that it is because RCC was used on the space shuttle that it was destroyed. If ceramics were used instead of RCC, the same castostrophy would have happened.

Perhaps the formulation could be clarified.