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At least 1,387 records · Page 77
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1977

The effect of ablation injection on radiative and convective heating

A viscous shock-layer analysis for calculating high energy equilibrium flow fields about blunt axisymmetric bodies is applied to the problem of massive ablation injection with radiation transport. A nongray radiation model is used that accounts for both line and continuum radiation. The solution method is direct and provides both stagnation and downstream solutions. Results for shock heated air show that phenolic-nylon injection is substantially more effective in reducing the wall radiant flux than air injection. Also, for large included body angles, the wall radiative flux and the coupled phenolic-nylon injection rate do not continue to decrease with increasing distance downstream.

Moss, J. N.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Experimental performance of an ablative material as an external insulator for a hypersonic research aircraft

An ablative material composed of silica-filled elastomeric silicone was tested to evaluate its thermal and structural performance as an external insulator, or heat shield, for a hypersonic research aircraft. The material was also tested to determine whether it would form a durable char layer when initially heated and thereafter function primarily as an insulator with little further pyrolysis or char removal. Aerothermal tests were representative of nominal Mach 6 cruise conditions of the aircraft, and additional tests were representative of Mach 8 cruise and interference heating conditions. Radiant heating tests were used to simulate the complete nominal Mach 6 surface-temperature history. The silica char that formed during aerothermal tests was not durable. The char experienced a general and preferential surface recession, with the primary mechanism for char removal being erosion. Tests revealed that radiant heating is not a valid technique for simulating aerodynamic heating of the material.

Puster, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Study of the ablative effects on tektites: Atmosphere entry of a swarm of tektites

The large variety of ablation markings observed on recovered tektites lead to the previously proposed swarm wake model which states that the lead peripheral tektites bore the blunt of aerodynamic heating upon entry, and that the bulk of tektites in the wake enjoyed partial shielding at the expense of the leaders. Further considerations are presented in support of this model. Quantitative assessments indicate that wake shielding might indeed have provided for substantially less heating than would have been experienced by a tektite entering an undisturbed atmosphere along a similar trajectory. For the case of strong wake shielding it is even possible that the surface temperature of a falling tektite had barely reached its melting point. In the distribution of tektites, there is a size band (near R = 0.5 cm) which is least susceptible to melting.

Sepri, P.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Sprayable low density ablator and application process

A sprayable, low density ablative composition is described consisting esentially of: (1) 100 parts by weight of a mixture of 25-65% by weight of phenolic microballoons, 0-20% by weight of glass microballoons, 4-10% by weight of glass fibers, 25-45% by weight of an epoxy-modified polyurethane resin, 2-4% by weight of a bentonite dispersing aid, and 1-2% by weight of an alcohol activator for the bentonite; (2) 1-10 parts by weight of an aromatic amine curing agent; and (3) 200-400 parts by weight of a solvent.

Sharpe, M. H.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Intumescent-ablator coatings using endothermic fillers

An intumescent-ablator coating composition which contains the ammonium salt of 1,4-nitroaniline-2-sulfonic acid or 4,4 dinitrosul fanilide, a polymeric binder system and about 5 to 30% weight of an endothermic filler is reported. The filler has a decomposition temperature about or within the exothermic region of the intumescent agent.

Sawko, P. M.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Meteor ablation spheres from deep-sea sediments

Spheres from mid-Pacific abyssal clays (0 to 500,000 yrs old), formed from particles that completely melted and subsequently recrystallized as they separated from their meteoroid bodies, or containing relict grains of parent meteoroids that did not experience any melting were analyzed. The spheres were readily divided into three groups using their dominant mineralogy. The Fe-rich spheres were produced during ablation of Fe and metal-rich silicate meteoroids. The glassy spheres are considerably more Fe-rich than the silicate spheres. They consist of magnetite and an Fe glass which is relatively low in Si. Bulk compositions and relict grains are useful for determining the parent meteoroid types for the silicate spheres. Bulk analyses of recrystallized spheres show that nonvolatile elemental abundances are similar to chondrite abundances. Analysis of relict grains identified high temperature minerals associated with a fine-grained, low temperature, volatile-rich matrix. The obvious candidates for parent meteoroids of this type of silicate sphere is a carbonaceous chondrite.

Blanchard, M. B.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Some effects of ablation on transport properties in the Jovian atmosphere

In this paper the transport properties at the inner and outer boundary for mixing between ablation products and a Jovian-like atmosphere are calculated. The dominant species at these boundaries are C, H, O, He, H+, and e. Accurate potential energy curves are obtained for the fifteen possible two-body interactions among these species by fitting good semiempirical potentials for which transport collision cross sections have been tabulated to accurate experimental and theoretical information. Results are obtained for the viscosity and translational thermal conductivity of the pure species and the binary diffusion coefficients from 1000 K to 25,000 K. In addition, the mixture translational thermal conductivity and viscosity are calculated at the inner and outer mixing boundaries. This information is required for calculating flowfield properties and surface heating. The most important conclusion is that the translational thermal conductivity is substantially lower at the inner mixing boundary than it is at the outer mixing boundary.

Biolsi, L.↗
NASA NTRS1978

The impact of turbulence on a radiating shock layer with coupled ablation injection

This paper provides a description of the potential impact of turbulence on a radiating flow field with large surface blowing. This is accomplished by calculating the forebody flow field with coupled carbon-phenolic mass injection for a probe entering the Jupiter atmosphere. Both laminar and turbulent flow conditions are assumed. For the no blowing solutions, turbulence is shown to have no impact on the surface radiative heating. However, with ablation injection, turbulence significantly increases the surface radiative heating rate. This occurs because the turbulence brings the high temperature gases closer to the surface, thus thinning the cool molecular gases at the wall which are responsible for blocking much of the radiation.

Moss, J. N.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Strain compatibility assessment for SRB sprayable ablator MSA-1

Tensile and compressive strain compatibility testing was performed on as-sprayed samples of the Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster external ablator material, MSA-1. Strain gages on the aluminum substrate were used to monitor strain. Strain compatibility was determined as the percent strain in the substrate at first visual evidence of MSA-1 failure. The 1/8-in. MSA-1, baselined for large areas of the SRB external skin, was characterized by a strain compatibility of 1.5 to 1.8 percent, which far exceeded the yield range of the metal substrate. Thicker MSA-1 applications (1.4 to 3/8 in.) were characterized by a lower level of strain compatibility, which appeared to be a manifestation of application limitations.

Patterson, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

A meteor ablation-cluster ion atmospheric sodium theory

Neutral and ionic forms of sodium form narrow, well-defined layers which peak in the 90-95 km altitude region at midlatitudes. A new theory for the sodium layer is presented, which is found to be in good agreement with existing atmospheric observations as well as available laboratory measurements of rate constants. The layer is believed to result naturally from a meteor ablation source over a chemical sink with vertical transport of Na(+) playing an important role in the layer shape and variation. While the neutral chemistry is believed to consist of chemical equilibrium between Na and NaO, the ion chemistry departs from earlier studies and considers a cluster ion scheme. It is possible that higher-order cluster ions of sodium play a role in the formation of aerosols, through attachment or ion-induced nucleation processes.

Richter, E. S.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Transient ablation of Teflon in intense radiative and convective environments

On the basis of this investigation of the high-temperature behavior of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), the transient one-dimensional ablation of PTFE has been developed by taking into account the optical transmittance of both the amorphous zone and the crystalline zone of PTFE layer. Results show that although the exposed surface receded at an apparently steady state, both the internal temperature and the thickness of the gel layer increase continuously due to the internal absorption of radiation.

Arai, N.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Development and evaluation of an ablative closeout material for solid rocket booster thermal protection system

A trowellable closeout/repair material designated as MTA-2 was developed and evaluated for use on the Solid Rocket Booster. This material is composed of an epoxy-polysulfide binder and is highly filled with phenolic microballoons for density control and ablative performance. Mechanical property testing and thermal testing were performed in a wind tunnel to simulate the combined Solid Rocket Booster trajectory aeroshear and heating environments. The material is characterized by excellent thermal performance and was used extensively on the Space Shuttle STS-1 and STS-2 flight hardware.

Patterson, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Cork-resin ablative insulation for complex surfaces and method for applying the same

A method of applying cork-resin ablative insulation material to complex curved surfaces is disclosed. The material is prepared by mixing finely divided cork with a B-stage curable thermosetting resin, forming the resulting mixture into a block, B-stage curing the resin-containing block, and slicing the block into sheets. The B-stage cured sheet is shaped to conform to the surface being insulated, and further curing is then performed. Curing of the resins only to B-stage before shaping enables application of sheet material to complex curved surfaces and avoids limitations and disadvantages presented in handling of fully cured sheet material.

Walker, H. M.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Flowfield calculations past an entry probe with ablated nose shape

The effects of ablated nose shapes on the flowfield solutions are studied, using a time-dependent finite-difference method developed by Kumar, et al. (1979). Solutions are obtained for the laminar flow of a radiating mixture of H-He in chemical equilibrium past a blunt axisymmetric body at zero angle of attack. The freestream conditions correspond to a point on a typical Jovian entry trajectory, and the initial probe shape is a 45-deg half-angle spherically blunted cone. It is found that as nose bluntness increases, the following occur: in the nose region, shock standoff distances and radiative heating rates increase substantially; surface pressure level increases, but convective heating rates decrease.

Kumar, A.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Significance of turbulence and transition location on radiative heating with ablation injection

This paper presents forebody flowfield solutions for Jupiter entry conditions where the ablation injection rate is coupled with the surface heating rate. The calculations are made with a time-dependent viscous-shock-layer analysis where the flow is assumed to be in chemical equilibrium. Both laminar and turbulent solutions are presented to describe the impact of turbulence on surface mass loss rates for flow conditions where the heating is due primarily to radiation. Results are also presented where the transition location to turbulent flow is arbitrarily varied. Results show that the radiative heating rate values based on several downstream transition locations adjust quickly to the corresponding values based on transition near the stagnation point.

Moss, J. N.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Transport properties for a mixture of the ablation products C, C2, and C3

The ablation of carbon-phenolic heat shields upon entry into the atmosphere of one of the outer planets leads to the injection of large amounts of C, C2, and C3 into the shock layer. These species must be included in the calculation of transport properties in the shock layer. The kinetic theory of gases has been used to obtain accurate results for the transport properties of monatomic carbon. The Hulburt-Hirschelder potential, the most accurate general purpose atom-atom potential for states with an attractive minimum, was used to represent such states and repulsive states were represented by fitting quantum mechanical potential energy curves with the exponential repulsive potential. These results were orientation averaged according to the peripheral force model to obtain transport collision integrals for the C-C2 and C2-C2 interaction. Results for C3 were obtained by ignoring the presence of the central carbon atom. The thermal conductivity, viscosity, and diffusion coefficients for pure C, C2, and C3, and for mixtures of these gases, were then calculated from 1000 K - 25,000 K.

Biolsi, L.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Water absorption and desorption in shuttle ablator and insulation materials

Shuttle systems ablator and insulation materials underwent water soak with subsequent water desorption in vacuum. Water accumulation in these materials after a soak for 24 hours ranged from +1.1% for orbiter tile to +161% for solid rocket booster MSA-1. After 1 minute in vacuum, water retention ranged from none in the orbiter tile to +70% for solid rocket booster cork.

Whitaker, A. F.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Stagnation-point ablation of carbonaceous flat disks. I Theory

The process of ablation is calculated for the stagnation region of a flat disk in a radiation-dominated, massive-blowing environment produced in a ballistic range filled with argon. Flow environments are determined by solving the boundary-layer equations while radiative transfer is calculated through a line-by-line spectral computation. The resulting wall heat-transfer rates are coupled with an existing material's response code to determine surface recession and char thickness. The calculation is performed for six 5-cm-diam models made of carbon-phenolic and carbon-carbon composite launched in the Track-G facility at the Arnold Engineering Development Center. Significant surface recessions are predicted to occur for these models due mostly to radiative heating.

Park, C.↗