Simulation of Ablation in a Sounding Rocket Thermal Protection System Via an Interface Tracking Method with Two Moving Fronts

Machado, Humberto Araujo

doi:10.5028/jatm.v5i4.262

ABSTRACT:

In this work, an interface tracking method is employed to simulate the ablative process in the region near the stagnation point of the VSB-30 sounding rocket Thermal Protection System (TPS). The ablation model considers the presence of two-fronts, the char-melting and the pyrolysis fronts. The results for the proposed model are compared to the ones obtained from the traditional one-front model, which supposes a constant ablation temperature. Results show that the one-front model overestimates the ablation period, mass loss and the internal temperature after the flight. The increase in the accuracy with this model shall provide a better dimensioning of the TPS, reducing its weight and cost.

KEYWORDS:
TPS; ablation; moving boundary; computational simulation; sounding rocket

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REFERENCES

Anderson Jr., J.D., 1989, “Hypersonic and High Temperature Gas Dynamics”, McGraw-Hill, Blacklick, Ohio, USA.
Da Costa, L.E.V.L., De Mello, F.C. and Pardini, L.C., 1996, “Viability Study of Thermal Protection for SARA Platform”, IAE/CTA, Technical note NT-130ASE-N/96, IAE/CTA, São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil (in Portuguese).
Garcia, A., Yamanaka, S.S.C., Barbosa, A.N., Bizarria, F.C.P., Jung, W. and Sheuerpflug, F, 2011, “VSB-30 Sounding Rocket: History of Flight Performance”, Journal of Aerospace Technology and Management, Vol. 3, No.3, pp. 325-330. doi: 10.5028/JATM.2011.03032211
» https://doi.org/10.5028/JATM.2011.03032211
Gregori, M.L., Barros, E. de A., Petraconi Filho, G., Costa, S.F. and Pardini, L.C., 2008, “Properties of Quartz-Phenolic Composites for Thermal Protection Systems”, 59 ^th IAC Congress, Glascow, Scotland.
Juric, D., 1996, “Computations of Phase Change,” Ph.D. thesis, University of Michigan, Michigan, 166 p.
Machado, H.A. and Pessoa-Filho, J.B., 2007 , “Aerodynamic Heating on VSB-30”, ESA Symposium, Visby, Sweden.
Machado, H.A., 2008, “Two-dimensional Simulation of Ablation due to Aerodynamic Heating in a Sounding Rocket”, 40 ^th AIAA Thermophysics Conference, Seattle, USA.
Machado, H.A., 2012a, “Simulation of Ablation in a Composite Thermal Protection System via an Interface Tracking Method”, Journal of Aerospace Technology and Management, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 331-340. doi: 10.5028/jatm.2012.04030312
» https://doi.org/10.5028/jatm.2012.04030312
Machado, H.A., 2012b, “After-Flight Thermal Analysis of the VSB30 Sounding Rocket Payload”, VII National Congress of Mechanical Engineering - CONEM, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil (in Portuguese).
Miranda, I.F. and Mayall, M.C de M., 2001, “Fluxo de Calor Convectivo em Micro-Satélites em Reentrada atmosférica”, Graduate Dissertation, Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil, 66 p.
Patankar, S.V., 1980, “Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow”, Taylor & Francis, New Delhi.
Ruperti Jr., N.J., 1991, “Solution of a One-Dimensional Ablation Model”, Master thesis, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil (in Portuguese).
Savvatimskii, A.V., 2003, “Melting Point of Graphite and Liquid Carbon”, Physics-Uspekhi, Vol. 46, No. 12, pp. 1295-1303. doi:10.1070/PU2003v046n12ABEH001699
Sias, D.F., 2009, “Hibrid Solutions for Heat Transfer on Ablative Thermal Protection Systems”, Master thesis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (in Portuguese).
Tick, S.J., Huson, G.R. and Griese, R., 1965, “Design of Ablative Thrust Chambers and Their Materials”, Journal of Spacecraft and Rocket, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 325-331. doi: 10.2514/3.28179
» https://doi.org/10.2514/3.28179
Turner, J., Hörschgen, M., Turner, P., Ettl, J., Jung, W. and Stamminger, A., 2005, “SHEFEX - The Vehicle and Sb-Systems for a Hypersonic Re-entry Flight Experiment”, 17 ^th ESA Symposium in European Rocket and Balloon Programmes and Related Research, Sandfjord, Norway.
U.S. Standard Atmosphere, Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, 1976.
Unverdi, S.O. and Tryggvason, G., 1992, “A Front-Tracking Method for Viscous, Incompressible, Multi-fluid Flows”, Journal of Computational Physics, Vol. 100, No. 1, pp. 25-37.
Williams, S.D. and Curry, D.M., 1992, “Thermal Protection Materials - Thermophysical Property Data”, NASA Reference Publication 1289.
Zoby, E.V., Moss, J.N. and Sutton, K., 1981, “Approximate Convective Heat Equations Hypersonic Flows”, Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 64-70.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
Oct-Dec 2013

History

Received
27 June 2013
Accepted
23 Oct 2013

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

[1] Anderson Jr., J.D., 1989, “Hypersonic and High Temperature Gas Dynamics”, McGraw-Hill, Blacklick, Ohio, USA.

[2] Da Costa, L.E.V.L., De Mello, F.C. and Pardini, L.C., 1996, “Viability Study of Thermal Protection for SARA Platform”, IAE/CTA, Technical note NT-130ASE-N/96, IAE/CTA, São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil (in Portuguese).

[3] Garcia, A., Yamanaka, S.S.C., Barbosa, A.N., Bizarria, F.C.P., Jung, W. and Sheuerpflug, F, 2011, “VSB-30 Sounding Rocket: History of Flight Performance”, Journal of Aerospace Technology and Management, Vol. 3, No.3, pp. 325-330. doi: 10.5028/JATM.2011.03032211
» https://doi.org/10.5028/JATM.2011.03032211

[4] Gregori, M.L., Barros, E. de A., Petraconi Filho, G., Costa, S.F. and Pardini, L.C., 2008, “Properties of Quartz-Phenolic Composites for Thermal Protection Systems”, 59 ^th IAC Congress, Glascow, Scotland.

[5] Juric, D., 1996, “Computations of Phase Change,” Ph.D. thesis, University of Michigan, Michigan, 166 p.

[6] Machado, H.A. and Pessoa-Filho, J.B., 2007 , “Aerodynamic Heating on VSB-30”, ESA Symposium, Visby, Sweden.

[7] Machado, H.A., 2008, “Two-dimensional Simulation of Ablation due to Aerodynamic Heating in a Sounding Rocket”, 40 ^th AIAA Thermophysics Conference, Seattle, USA.

[8] Machado, H.A., 2012a, “Simulation of Ablation in a Composite Thermal Protection System via an Interface Tracking Method”, Journal of Aerospace Technology and Management, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 331-340. doi: 10.5028/jatm.2012.04030312
» https://doi.org/10.5028/jatm.2012.04030312

[9] Machado, H.A., 2012b, “After-Flight Thermal Analysis of the VSB30 Sounding Rocket Payload”, VII National Congress of Mechanical Engineering - CONEM, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil (in Portuguese).

[10] Miranda, I.F. and Mayall, M.C de M., 2001, “Fluxo de Calor Convectivo em Micro-Satélites em Reentrada atmosférica”, Graduate Dissertation, Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil, 66 p.

[11] Patankar, S.V., 1980, “Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow”, Taylor & Francis, New Delhi.

[12] Ruperti Jr., N.J., 1991, “Solution of a One-Dimensional Ablation Model”, Master thesis, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil (in Portuguese).

[13] Savvatimskii, A.V., 2003, “Melting Point of Graphite and Liquid Carbon”, Physics-Uspekhi, Vol. 46, No. 12, pp. 1295-1303. doi:10.1070/PU2003v046n12ABEH001699

[14] Sias, D.F., 2009, “Hibrid Solutions for Heat Transfer on Ablative Thermal Protection Systems”, Master thesis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (in Portuguese).

[15] Tick, S.J., Huson, G.R. and Griese, R., 1965, “Design of Ablative Thrust Chambers and Their Materials”, Journal of Spacecraft and Rocket, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 325-331. doi: 10.2514/3.28179
» https://doi.org/10.2514/3.28179

[16] Turner, J., Hörschgen, M., Turner, P., Ettl, J., Jung, W. and Stamminger, A., 2005, “SHEFEX - The Vehicle and Sb-Systems for a Hypersonic Re-entry Flight Experiment”, 17 ^th ESA Symposium in European Rocket and Balloon Programmes and Related Research, Sandfjord, Norway.

[17] U.S. Standard Atmosphere, Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, 1976.

[18] Unverdi, S.O. and Tryggvason, G., 1992, “A Front-Tracking Method for Viscous, Incompressible, Multi-fluid Flows”, Journal of Computational Physics, Vol. 100, No. 1, pp. 25-37.

[19] Williams, S.D. and Curry, D.M., 1992, “Thermal Protection Materials - Thermophysical Property Data”, NASA Reference Publication 1289.

[20] Zoby, E.V., Moss, J.N. and Sutton, K., 1981, “Approximate Convective Heat Equations Hypersonic Flows”, Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 64-70.

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