Ultra-Stable Thermally Excellent Advancements in Material Strength (USTEAMS)
Category: Mechanical/Materials
Developers: Sandia National Laboratories
United States
Product Description:USTEAMS is a technique to synthesize composite coatings using silica and sugar-derived carbon, mimicking natural seashell laminate structures. These coatings exhibit high thermal stability up to 1650°C and exceed the hardness of Spectra® by ~44%. This creates a wide range of applications in mechanical and thermal protections.
Developers: Sandia National Laboratories
United States
Product Description:USTEAMS is a technique to synthesize composite coatings using silica and sugar-derived carbon, mimicking natural seashell laminate structures. These coatings exhibit high thermal stability up to 1650°C and exceed the hardness of Spectra® by ~44%. This creates a wide range of applications in mechanical and thermal protections.

TEOS forms a stable silica network, and sugar converts into carbon black after pyrolysis. The silica and carbon layers are “glued” together by chemical crosslinking to form strong and hard layered material.