"Right now, our flight systems are becoming more and more high-speed, even going into hypersonic systems, which are five times the speed of sound," said stud researcher Richard Liang, from Florida State University in US.
"When you have speeds that high, there's more heat on a surface. Therefore, we need a much better thermal protection system," Liang said.
The team used carbon nanotubes, which are linked hexagons of carbon atoms in the shape of a cylinder, to build the heat shields.
Sheets of those nanotubes are also known as "buckypaper," a material with incredible abilities to conduct heat and electricity that has been a focus of study, published in the journal Carbon.
By soaking the buckypaper in a resin made of a compound called phenol, the researchers were able to create a lightweight, flexible material that is also durable enough to potentially protect the body of a rocket or jet from the intense heat it faces while flying.
Existing heat shields are often very thick compared to the base they protect, said researcher Ayou Hao.
This design lets engineers build a very thin shield, like a sort of skin that protects the aircraft and helps support its structure.
After building heat shields of varying thicknesses, the researchers put them to the test.
One test involved applying a flame to the samples to see how they prevented heat from reaching the carbon fibre layer they were meant to protect.
After that, the researchers bent the samples to see how strong they remained.
They found the samples with sheets of buckypaper were better than control samples at dispersing heat and keeping it from reaching the base layer.
They also stayed strong and flexible compared to control samples made without protective layers of nanotubes. That flexibility is a helpful quality.
The nanotubes are less vulnerable to cracking at high temperatures compared to ceramics, a typical heat shield material.
They are also lightweight, which is helpful for engineers who want to reduce the weight of anything on an aircraft that does not help the way it flies, the researchers said.
( With inputs from IANS )