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