Sofiia Goncharuk

Sofiia Goncharuk

Biography

Born and raised in Ukraine, Sofiia Goncharuk moved to the United States at 16. She has a passion for creating a more sustainable and accessible future for communities and ecosystems. Now a rising junior at Stevens Institute of Technology studying Mechanical Engineering, Sofiia is passionate about clean solar and fusion energy, and nanotechnology, and plans to pursue a PhD. During her freshman summer, Sofiia completed an REU at ASPIRE NSF, working on thermal management for high-power EV charging stations and exploring the cooling capabilities of phase-change materials. At MIT, Sofiia works in NECSTLab, developing carbon nanotube-polysiloxane thermal protection ablative materials used as the outer layers of spacecraft during atmospheric reentry. Outside of research, Sofiia volunteers at her local church, raising money for people in need in Ukraine. On campus, Sofiia is active in numerous organizations, and she helped establish a new sustainability-focused Living Learning Community. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, hiking, paddleboarding, and being outside.

Carbon Nanotubes –Polysiloxane Nanocomposites for Thermal Protection System
Sofiia Goncharuk¹, Palak B. Patel², Brian L. Wardle^2,3
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology
²Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
³Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Polysiloxane resins such as ultra-high temperature resin (UHTR) show strong promise as ablative materials in thermal protection systems (TPS) for the outermost heat shield layers of atmospheric reentry vehicles. Effective TPS ablatives must exhibit low density, low thermal conductivity, high temperature resistance, and the ability to form a stable char layer during reentry heating. Fiberreinforced polymer composites are the industry standard for TPS applications due to their strengthto- weight ratios. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represent a promising next-generation reinforcement over traditional carbon microfibers, offering superior specific strength, thermal stability, tunable electrical and thermal properties. The Bulk Nanocomposite Laminating (BNL) process has enabled the manufacture of CNT-polysiloxane (CNT-PS) nanocomposites with uniformly aligned CNTs at high volume fractions. However, no validation testing of these materials under TPS conditions has been performed. This project addresses that gap by manufacturing multi-ply CNT-PS nanocomposite laminates and subjecting them to the principal TPS characterization tests: ablative, emissivity, and micrometeoroid laser-induced particle impact testing. Together, these tests will establish the first experimental validation for CNT-PS nanocomposites as ablative TPS materials. Given their lightweight nature and exceptional mechanical properties, successful validation would position CNT-PS nanocomposites as a novel material for next-generation spacecraft, reducing heat shield mass and lowering manufacturing costs.