A Fast Thermal 1D Model to Study Aerospace Material Response Behaviors in Uncontrolled Atmospheric Entries

Abstract

A preliminary thermal 1D numerical model for studying the demise behavior of stainless steel 316L, silicon carbide (SiC) and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) during uncontrolled atmospheric entry is proposed. Test case modeling results are compared to experimental data obtained in the framework of ESA Clean Space initiative: material samples were exposed to different heat flux conditions using the Plasma Wind Tunnel (PWT) facilities at the Institute of Space Systems (IRS) of the University of Stuttgart. This numerical model approximates the heating history of the selected materials by simulating their thermal response and temperature profiles, which have trends similar to the experimental curves that are found. Moreover, when high heat flux conditions are considered, the model simulates the materials’ mass loss due to the ablation process: at the end of the simulation, the difference between the experimental and the modeled results is about 17% for CFRP and 35% for stainless steel. To reduce the model’s uncertainties, the following analysis suggests the need to consider the influence of adequate material thermophysical properties and the physical-chemical processes that affect the samples’ temperature profile and mass loss.

Comparison on mechanical behavior and microstructural features between traditional and AM AISI 316L

“…Different materials, both polymeric and metallic, can be adopted for AM processing. One of the high‐performance steels is the AISI 316L, 11 which is a kind of austenitic steel that nowadays is commonly used in many industrial applications (aerospace, 12 automotive, 13 and biomedical 5,14 ), thanks to its good weldability, machinability, and corrosion resistance 15,16 . Many AM techniques have been developed in recent years, such as selective laser melting (SLM), 17,18 electron beam fusion (EBM), 19 and direct energy deposition (DED) 20 .…”

Theoretical modelling of non-equilibrium reaction–diffusion of rarefied gas on a wall with microscale roughness

“…A future analysis may consider the materials’ mass loss model such as the 1-D model proposed by Pirrone et al. (2022). The roughness elements have a period distribution, which is an abstraction of most practical surfaces (Panerai et al.…”

“…A future analysis may consider the materials’ mass loss model such as the 1-D model proposed by Pirrone et al. (2022).…”

“…(ii) Time-dependent interfacial motions are neglected here because the surface recession is slow as compared with the mass transfer (Lachaud et al 2007), and the flow is steady in this problem. A future analysis may consider the materials' mass loss model such as the 1-D model proposed by Pirrone et al (2022). (iii) The roughness elements have a period distribution, which is an abstraction of most practical surfaces (Panerai et al 2019;Levet et al 2021;Le et al 2021).…”

Thermal Behavior of Carbon-Phenolic/Silica Phenolic Dual-Layer Ablator Specimens through Arc-Jet Tests

“…A comprehensive review of various ablative materials for different thermal protection applications, including a compilation of widely used material testing techniques and ablation simulation codes, can be found in Natali et al [7]. A one-dimensional thermal model for analyzing material behaviors during uncontrolled atmospheric re-entries of space debris, such as used rocket stages and phased-out satellites, can be found in Pirrone et al [8].…”