The effect of environment pressure in carbon–phenolic composite ablation

Polymeric composites are vastly employed in ablative Thermal Protection Systems of hypersonic vehicles. Due their high velocity and altitude of flight, such vehicles are subjected to a high variation in atmospheric pressure, which affects the ablative process over the heat shield. This study evaluat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering 2021-11, Vol.43 (11), Article 500
Main Authors: Pesci, Pedro Guilherme Silva, de Paula e Silva, Homero, Rita, Cristian Cley Paterniani, Machado, Humberto Araujo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ablation
Atmospheric pressure
Engineering
Experiments
Finite element method
Heat flux
Hypersonic vehicles
Mechanical Engineering
Pressure effects
Technical Paper
Thermal protection
Vacuum chambers
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Summary:Polymeric composites are vastly employed in ablative Thermal Protection Systems of hypersonic vehicles. Due their high velocity and altitude of flight, such vehicles are subjected to a high variation in atmospheric pressure, which affects the ablative process over the heat shield. This study evaluates the influence of pressure environment in the ablation through experiments performed in a vacuum chamber, where the samples of carbon–phenolic composite were tested for two different pressures at prescribed heat fluxes impinged by a plasma torch. A reliable physical model is proposed, and numerical results are compared with experiments, presenting good agreement and revalidating the simulation model. The specific mass loss rate at rarefied pressure was compared with the one at atmospheric pressure, and a reason for the difference is explained. Recession surfaces were simulated and compared to the experiments. Tested samples were analyzed by FEM and, results are discussed.
ISSN:1678-5878
1806-3691
DOI:10.1007/s40430-021-03210-2