Evaluation System for Ablative Material in a High-Temperature Torch

Abstract

Ablative thermal protection system (TPS) has been used to protect a vehicle from the heat load experienced during hypersonic or re-entry flights. Typical materials for ablative TPS are carbon-carbon (C/C) composites and carbon-phenolic composites, which have generally been used at working temperatures that are not very high due to surface oxidation. From a material science perspective, modification with ultra-high-temperature ceramic (UHTC) materials or coating with UHTC materials have been undertaken in an attempt to enhance the performance of ablative TPSs for high-temperature applications. As no single facility can reproduce all the aspects of the harsh environments that a vehicle would experience in hypersonic flight, a facility appropriate for the environment of interest is selectively adopted to assess TPS materials. In this study, an evaluation system for ablative material in a high-temperature torch has been developed. As part of the development, cost-effective experiments were conducted using an oxy-kerosene torch. Performance of the C/C test sample was measured, and the flowfield was diagnosed. Numerical simulation of the oxy-kerosene flowfield and the one-dimensional material response have been performed and compared with the test data.