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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Performance prediction of fixed wing leading edges radiative, ablative and active cooling thermal protection systems and system weights comparison for space shuttle entry mission
Nonequilibrium modeling of pyrolysis gas products flow through char layer of ablative heat shield
Large meteoroids ablation and breakup mathematical model, estimating Mars atmosphere effectiveness as shield against surface impact craters production
NASA-SRI Round Robin Ablation Program summary, discussing dimensional analysis, Teflon, nylon and surface temperature
Jupiter atmosphere entry probes graphite ablative heat shields performance, indicating convective and radiative blockage and graphite sublimation processes in surface heat balance
Reflecting and ablating Teflon heat shields for radiative environment of outer planets atmosphere
Development of ablative materials based on modification of polyphenylene compounds is discussed. Chemical and physical properties are analyzed for application as heat resistant materials. Synthesis of linear polyphenylenes is described. Effects of exposure to oxyacetylene flame and composition of resultant char layer are presented.
Results are presented from an investigation to determine the effects of fabrication-induced defects on the performance of an ablative heat shield material in a simulated space shuttle reentry environment. Nondestructive methods for detecting the defects were investigated. The material considered is a fiber-filled, honeycomb-reinforced, low-density elastomer. Results were obtained for density variations, voids, fiber bundles, crushed honeycomb, undercut honeycomb, unbonded areas, face sheet delaminations, and cure variations. The data indicate that, within reasonable tolerances, the fabrication defects investigated are not critical in terms of reentry performance of the heat shield.
A silicone material was developed which gives suitable ablative protection in the high heat flux, high shear environments encountered in severe reentry applications, such as nose cones for ballistic vehicles and protection of leading edges or other critical areas of a vehicle. In addition, the ease of handling, low application cost, and room temperature cure make such a silicon material suitable nozzles for the large rockets necessary for vehicle launching. The development of this product is traced from the selection of suitable polymers through the choice of fillers and the finalization of filler loadings.
A method for temperature control of the combustion gases in the peripheral zone of a rocket combustor which would reduce ablative throat erosion, prevent melting of zirconia throat inserts, and maintain high combustion performance is discussed. Included are techniques for analyzing and predicting zoned injector performance, as well as the philosophy and method for accomplishing an optimum compromise between high performance and reduced effective gas temperature. The experimental work was done with a 1000-lbf rocket engine which used as propellants N2O4 and a blend of 50-percent N2H4 and 50-percent UDMH at 100-psia chamber pressure and an overall O/F of 2.0. The method selected to provide temperature control was to use 30 percent of the propellant to form a peripheral zone of combustion gases at an O/F of 1.31 and 2700 K. The remaining 70 percent of the propellant in the core was at an O/F of 2.45 to keep the overall O/F at 2.0.
Studies are being conducted to determine how manufacturing-induced defects affect the performance of ablative heat shields. If commonly occurring defects do not affect material performance, simpler manufacturing techniques can be used, quality control requirements can be relaxed, repair and rework operations can be held to a minimum, and thus the total manufacturing cost can be reduced.
Procedures for low cost fabrication and direct bond installation of flat, single curved, and compound curvature ablative heat shields on a DC-3 aircraft are discussed. The panel sizes and attachment locations are identified. In addition to the bonding of the four contoured panels, two flat panels were bonded to the nearly flat, lower surface of the center wing section. The detailed requirements and objectives of the investigation are described.
The differential equations governing the transient response of the char layer of an ablating axisymmetric body, internal pyrolysis gas flow effects being considered, have been derived. These equations have been expanded into finite difference form and programed for numerical solution on a digital computer. Numerical results compare favorably with simplified exact solutions. The complete numerical analysis was used to obtain solutions for two representative body shapes subjected to a typical entry heating environment. Pronounced effects of the lateral flow of pyrolysis gases on the mass flow field within the char layer and the associated surface and pyrolysis interface recession rates are shown.
A large variety of graphitic materials have been tested in an arc heated air stream at a surface pressure of 4.3 atm and a nominal surface temperature of 3925 K. Included were commercial and developmental grades of artificial graphites, both two and three dimensional carbon-carbon composites, composites seeded with refractory compounds, and several special materials such as pyrolytic graphite, mesophase graphite, glassy carbon, and natural graphite. ATJ graphite was used as a control material. Except for the seeded materials which had poor performance, the mass loss rate for all the man-made graphitic materials fell within the range of 17 per cent less to 30 per cent more than the rate for ATJ. Thus it is concluded that wide variations in constituents, processing, fabrication and structure have relatively little effect on the ablation performance of graphitic materials, at least under the conditions of the present tests. Particulate mass loss was observed for all the materials tested and is the dominant mechanism for mass removal at the present test conditions. It is suggested that this mechanism results from physical failure, primarily by compressive thermal stress.
Ablating-surface boundary conditions involve considerations of surface thermochemistry. Several programs may be used to provide surface thermochemistry information.
A computer program can be used to determine the radiative flux and flux divergence through a nonisothermal planar slab of gas is described. The program considers species typical of air at high temperatures and nylon or carbon phenolic ablation products. The equations solved are for a variable optical depth line and continuum gas model using species cross sections and line widths as the basic data.
The length of the entry blackout period during descent of the Viking Lander into the Mars atmosphere is predicted from calculated profiles of electron density in the shock layer over the aeroshell. Nonequilibrium chemistry plays a key role in the calculation, both in the inviscid flow and in the boundary layer. This is especially true in the boundary layer contaminated with ablation material, for which nonequilibrium chemistry predicts electron densities two decades lower than the same case calculated with equilibrium chemistry.
A state-of-the-art preliminary design for typical wing areas is developed. Seven medium-density ablators (with/without honeycomb, flown on Apollo, Prime, X15A2) are evaluated. The screening tests include (1) leading-edge models sequentially subjected to ascent heating, cold soak, entry heating, post-entry pressure fluctuations, and touchdown shock, and (2) virgin/charred models subjected to bondline strains. Four materials (none molded) are found acceptable. The ESA 3560 HF and MOD 7 Hc (an AVCO 30 pcf elastomer) are selected. Roughness/recession degradation of low speed aerodynamics appears acceptable. The design, including attachments, substructure and joints, is presented.