The basic structural approaches for dealing with reentry heating of manned vehicles are summarized. The weight and development status of both radiative and ablative shields are given and the application of these shields to various vehicles is indicated.

/pdf/structures-for-reentry-heating-3wcx25puyr.pdf

Structures for reentry heating

Pretensioning technique to reduce critical operating leading-edge thermal stress in stagnation region

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19660020789/downloads/19660020789.pdf

A pretensioning concept for relief of critical leading-edge thermal stress

Exploratory tests have been conducted with several conceptual radiative heat shields of composite construction. Measured transient temperature distributions were obtained for a graphite heat shield without insulation and with three types of insulating materials, and for a metal multipost heat shield, at surface temperatures of approximately 2,000 F and 1,450 F, respectively, by use of a radiant-heat facility. The graphite configurations suffered loss of surface material under repeated irradiation. Temperature distribution calculated for the metal heat shield by a numerical procedure was in good agreement with measured data. Environmental survival tests of the graphite heat shield without insulation, an insulated multipost heat shield, and a stainless-steel-tile heat shield were made at temperatures of 2,000 F and dynamic pressures of approximately 6,000 lb/sq ft, provided by an ethylene-heated jet operating at a Mach number of 2.0 and sea-level conditions. The graphite heat shield survived the simulated aerodynamic heating and pressure loading. A problem area exists in the design and materials for heat-resistant fasteners between the graphite shield and the base structure. The insulated multipost heat shield was found to be superior to the stainless-steel-tile heat shield in retarding heat flow. Over-lapped face-plate joints and surface smoothness of the insulated multi- post heat shield were not adversely affected by the test environment. The graphite heat shield without insulation survived tests made in the acoustic environment of a large air jet. This acoustic environment is random in frequency and has an overall noise level of 160 decibels.

/pdf/exploratory-environmental-tests-of-several-heat-shields-lorknu9i82.pdf

M. S. Anderson

Papers

Research on radiation heat shields for bodies and leading edges