Nonablative lightweight thermal protection system for Mars Aeroflyby Sample collection mission

The procedures used to establish the TPS (thermal protection system) design of the SRB (solid rocket booster) element of the Space Shuttle vehicle are discussed. A final evaluation of the adequacy of this design will be made from data obtained from the first five Shuttle flights. Temperature sensors installed at selected locations on the SRB structure covered by the TPS give information as a function of time throughout the flight. Anomalies are to be investigated and computer design thermal models adjusted if required. In addition, the actual TPS ablator material loss is to be measured after each flight and compared with analytically determined losses. The analytical methods of predicting ablator performance are surveyed.

Ablative thermal protection systems

Highly porous carbon-based materials, referred to as 120, 150, and 270  kg/m3 materials hereafter, are heated in nitrogen arcjet conditions; and their respective thermal responses are analyzed both...

Radiative Transfer in a Low-Density Ablative Material Under Arcjet Flow Conditions

A computational method capable of calculating radiative heat transfer in a porous carbon-based material is developed in this study. In the method, a radiative conductivity value is statistically evaluated using a three-dimensional model of the material constructed using X-ray computed tomography images. The method is applied for thermal response analysis of a non-ablative heat shield called the Non-Ablative Lightweight Thermal protection system (NALT), which is heated in an arcjet flow. The arcjet heating environment is calculated in a coupled manner between nonequilibrium arcjet flow computation and NALT thermal response analysis. The results shows that the computational method developed satisfactorily reproduces the surface and in-depth temperature data measured.

Thermal Response Analysis of Porous Carbon-based Non-Ablative Heatshield in an Arcjet Flow Condition

Radiative Transfer in a Low Density Ablative Material under Arcjet Flow Conditions

Radiative transfer within a rigid carbon material in a nitrogen arcjet heating condition is studied experimentally and numerically. The experiment is done using a 1MW constrictor-type arcjet wind tunnel. Nitrogen is used as a test gas to minimize the surface recession of the carbon material. The nitrogen arcjet freestream is calculated from the upstream end of the constrictor up to the test section of the wind tunnel using an integrated numerical method developed recently. The thermal response analysis of the heated carbon material is made by a coupled manner between the arcjet flows and the material. The radiative conductivity is used in the radiative transport calculation. The radiative extinction coefficient to obtain the radiative conductivity is evaluated by using X-ray CT models. Comparison of the surface and in-depth temperature between calculation and measurement is made. The result shows that a reasonable agreement is obtained by accounting for the radiative transfer.

Radiative Transfer In A Rigid Carbon Material Under Arcjet Flow Condition

Measurement of the elastic moduli of carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) can be difficult owing to the anisotropic and viscoelastic characteristics of CFRP. In this study, a technique based on ...

Tatsuzo Suzuki

Papers

Radiative Transfer In A Rigid Carbon Material Under Arcjet Flow Condition

Identification of anisotropic viscoelastic moduli of CFRP by measurement of resonant frequencies

Radiative Transfer in a Low Density Ablative Material under Arcjet Flow Conditions