Degradation of carbon-based materials under ablative conditions produced by a high enthalpy plasma jet

Petraconi, Gilberto; Essiptchouk, Alexei Mikhailovich; Charakhovski, Leonid Ivanovich; Otani, Choyu; Maciel, Homero Santiago; Pessoa, Rodrigo Sávio; Gregori, Maria Luisa; Costa, Sônia Fonseca

doi:10.5028/jatm.2010.02013340

Abstract:

A stationary experiment was performed to study the degradation of carbon-based materials by immersion in a plasma jet. In the experiment, graphite and C/C composite were chosen as the target materials, and the reactive plasma jet was generated by an air plasma torch. For macroscopic study of the material degradation, the sample's mass losses were measured as function of the exposure time under various temperatures on the sample surface. A microscopic analysis was then carried out for the study of microscopic aspects of the erosion of material surface. These experiments showed that the mass loss per unit area is approximately proportional to the exposure time and strongly depends on the temperature of the material surface. The mass erosion rate of graphite was appreciably higher than the C/C composite. The ablation rate in the carbon matrix region in C/C composite was also noticeably higher than that in the fiber region. In addition, the latter varied according to the orientation of fibers relatively to the flow direction. These tests indicated an excellent ablation resistance of the C/C composite, thus being a reliable material for rocket nozzles and heat shielding elements of the protection systems of hypersonic apparatuses from aerodynamic heating.

Keywords:
Graphite; C/C Composite; Ablation; Plasma torch; Calorimetric probe; Enthalpy probe

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REFERENCES

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» http://www.rta.nato.int/Pubs/RDP.asp?RDP=RTO-EN-008
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Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
Jan-Apr 2010

History

Received
17 Dec 2009
Accepted
04 Mar 2010

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] Auweter-Kurtz, M. et al, 2000, "Measurement Techniques for High Enthalpy and Plasma Flows" Available at: http://www.rta.nato.int/Pubs/RDP.asp?RDP=RTO-EN-008
» http://www.rta.nato.int/Pubs/RDP.asp?RDP=RTO-EN-008

[2] Barros, E.A., 2008, "Plasma térmico para ablação de materiais utilizados como escudo de proteção térmica em sistemas aeroespaciais", PhD Thesis, Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica.

[3] Cho, D., Yoon, B., 2001, "Microstructural interpretation of the effect of various matrices on the ablation properties of carbon-fiber-reinforced composites", Composites Sci. and Technol, Vol. 61, N. 2, pp. 271-280.

[4] Dresvin, S.V., 1972, "Physics and techniques of low temperature plasma", Moscow: Atomizdat (in Russian).

[5] Fujimoto, K., Shioya, T., Satoh, K., 2003, "Degradation of carbon-based materials due to impact of high-energyatomic oxygen", International Journal of Impact Engineering, N. 28, pp. 1-11.

[6] Hald, H., 2003, "Operational limits for reusable space transportation systems due to physical boundaries of C/SiC materials", Aerospace Sci. and Technol, Vol. 7, N. 7, pp. 551-559.

[7] Lochte-Holtgreven, W., 1968, "Plasma diagnostics". Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam.

[8] Marsh, H., Forrest, M., Pacheco, L.A., 1981, "Structure in metallurgical cokes and carbons as studied by etching with atomic oxygen and chromic acid", Fuel, Vol. 60, N. 5, pp. 423-428.

[9] Matsumo, N., Mieno, T., 2003, "Characteristics of heat flux of JxB gas-arc discharge for the production of fullerenes", Vacuum, Vol. 69, N. 4, pp. 557-562.

[10] Mezines, S.A., Masek, R.V., 1979, "Heat shield material tests in a simulated Jovian entry heating environment", AIAA, Paper No. 79-0037, presented at 17th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, New Orlean.

[11] Park, J.K., Kang, T.J., 2002, "Thermal and ablative properties of low temperature carbon fiber-phenol formaldehyde resin composites", Carbon, Vol. 40, N. 12, pp. 2125-2134.

[12] Patton, R.D. et al, 2002, "Ablation, mechanical and thermal conductivity properties of vapor grown carbon fiber/phenolic matrix composites", Applied Sci. and Manufacturing, Vol. 33, N. 2, pp. 243-251.

[13] Polezhayev, Ju.V., Shishkov, A.A., 1970, "Gas dynamic heat shield testing". Moscow: Promedek (in Russian).

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