IRS Ground-Testing Facilities: Thermal Protection System Development, Code Validation and Flight Experiment Development

Herdrich, Georg; Löhle, Stefan; Auweter‐Kurtz, Monika; Endlich, P.; Fertig, Markus; Pidan, S.; Schreiber, Ellen

doi:10.2514/6.2004-2596

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A description of the magnetoplasmadynamically driven PWK2 can be found in Ref. 22. The condition was at an ambient pressure of 490-Pa using a current of 1070 A with a voltage of 91.3 V. The plasma generator RD5 was operated with 6.14 g/s nitrogen, 1.86 g/s oxygen, and 0.3 g/s argon.…”

Section: Measurement Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oxidation Behavior of Siliconcarbide-Based Materials by Using New Probe Techniques

Herdrich

Fertig

Löhle

et al. 2005

Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hysteresis of passive to active and active to passive transition of SiC oxidation behavior has been investigated theoretically, numerically, and experimentally. Theoretical and experimental investigations show a strong interaction between transition and catalysis. Dependence on plasma composition is shown. A recently developed reaction model has been implemented in the advanced nonequilibrium Navier-Stokes code URANUS. Results are presented for the highly dissociated flow around the MIRKA capsule. In this case, radiation adiabatic surface temperatures have been found to be 120 K higher for active oxidation conditions as compared to passive oxidation conditions. To investigate transition behavior in detail, various new probe measurement techniques have been developed. Important additional observations have been made in chemical nonequilibrium. Within plasma wind-tunnel testing, a sudden temperature increase of up to 400 K was found with the transition from passive to active oxidation. Theoretical and numerical predictions show good qualitative and quantitative agreement with experimental results. Nomenclature= distance from plasma generator outlet plane γ = ratio of heat capacities H = reaction enthalpy δ = boundary-layer thickness ε = emissivity ρ = density = angle Subscripts amb = ambient (g) = gaseous in = related to temperature of water coming into cooling system -und Konstruktionsforschung. Member AIAA. out = related to temperature of water leaving cooling system (s) = solid tot = total W = related to wall 1 = situation before shock 2 = situation behind shock

show abstract

Section: Measurement Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oxidation Behavior of Siliconcarbide-Based Materials by Using New Probe Techniques

Herdrich

Fertig

Löhle

et al. 2005

Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Four experiments in all were conducted in the IRS plasma wind tunnel facility PWK1 using the magneto-plasma dynamic generator RD5 [3,4]. The vacuum tank used for PWK 1 is a 6 m long steel tank with a diameter of 2 m and a double-wall cooling.…”

Section: Test Facility Probe Geometry and Plasma Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma Wind Tunnel Investigation of European Ablators in Nitrogen/Methane Using Emission Spectroscopy

Wernitz

Eichhorn

Marynowski

et al. 2013

International Journal of Spectroscopy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

For atmospheric reentries at high enthalpies ablative heat shield materials are used, such as those for probes entering the atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan, such as Cassini-Huygens in December, 2004. The characterization of such materials in a nitrogen/methane atmosphere is of interest. A European ablative material, AQ60, has been investigated in plasma wind tunnel tests at the IRS plasma wind tunnel PWK1 using the magnetoplasma dynamic generator RD5 as plasma source in a nitrogen/methane atmosphere. The dimensions of the samples are 45 mm in length with a diameter of 39 mm. The actual ablator has a thickness of 40 mm. The ablator is mounted on an aluminium substructure. The experiments were conducted at two different heat flux regimes, 1.4 MW/m2 and 0.3 MW/m2. In this paper, results of emission spectroscopy at these plasma conditions in terms of plasma species’ temperatures will be presented, including the investigation of the free-stream species, N2 and N2+, and the major erosion product C2, at a wavelength range around 500 nm–600 nm.

show abstract

“…The experiments described here are designed to add particular details to the existing knowledge of high-enthalpy pure oxygen plasmas. This, in turn, can be used for testing and refining computational models and planned flight experiments [6]. The experiments are aimed at detecting the most important constituent of the pure oxygen plasma in terms of chemical behavior: atomic oxygen.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To make progress in the development of future thermal protection systems (e.g., reusable systems), the chemical behavior of candidate materials has to be understood in more detail. A simplification of the chemical processes by using only pure gas flows (i.e., pure nitrogen and pure oxygen high-enthalpy plasma flows) can be seen as a first step and is particularly helpful to validate physical models and to investigate the catalytic and oxidation behavior of the material [2]. High-enthalpy pure nitrogen flows can easily be generated using arc-jet generators, and the material behavior has been investigated thoroughly [3].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…T HERMAL protection systems for Earth reentry maneuvers are currently qualified using plasma wind-tunnel facilities [1,2] in which the high-enthalpy air plasma flows that are expected for the reentry mission to be investigated are generated. To make progress in the development of future thermal protection systems (e.g., reusable systems), the chemical behavior of candidate materials has to be understood in more detail.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Laser-Induced Fluorescence Measurements of Atomic Oxygen Using Two Calibration Methods

Löhle

Auweter‐Kurtz

2007

Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Number densities of atomic oxygen have been measured in pure oxygen plasma, using two-photon laser-induced fluorescence measurements. In this paper, two calibration techniques are compared: the sensitivity of the experimental setup is calibrated using scattering experiments, and reference measurements on xenon are performed using two-photon laser-induced fluorescence measurements. The theoretical background and the experimental setup are described in detail. The advantages and drawbacks are herewith outlined. Applied to high-enthalpy, pure oxygen plasma, the evaluated number densities show fairly good agreement; however, because a constant discrepancy is measured between the results when using the two calibration approaches, a systematic error is probable. Possible reasons for this error are discussed (e.g., the cross-sectional ratio, in the case of xenon reference measurement calibration). One main conclusion is that measurements that are performed using the reference measurements on xenon are preferred, because they have much fewer experimental factors to be taken into account. Nomenclature A L = laser beam area, m 2 A 21 = Einstein coefficient, s 1 E L = laser energy, J e = electron charge 1:6022 10 19 C Ft = temporal function of the laser pulse, s G a =C = preamplifier gain/capacitance ratio G PMT = photomultiplier amplification G 2 = correlation factor of the laser field _ m = mass flow, g=s n b = refraction p a = ambient pressure, Pa QE = quantum efficiency of the photomultiplier Q 21 = quenching rate, s 1 S = fluorescence, J s = reference condition sens = sensitivity of the boxcar U A = anode voltage, V V R = Rayleigh signal, V = optical efficiency = wavelength, nm = wavelength, s 1 2 ! = absorption cross section, m 4 s p = pulse time, s LT = effective lifetime, s ! = transition frequency, s 1 d= d 90 deg pol = Rayleigh cross section, m 2 ℏ = Planck constant divided by 2, 1:055 10 34 Js

show abstract

IRS Ground-Testing Facilities: Thermal Protection System Development, Code Validation and Flight Experiment Development

Cited by 13 publications

References 6 publications

Oxidation Behavior of Siliconcarbide-Based Materials by Using New Probe Techniques

Oxidation Behavior of Siliconcarbide-Based Materials by Using New Probe Techniques

Plasma Wind Tunnel Investigation of European Ablators in Nitrogen/Methane Using Emission Spectroscopy

Laser-Induced Fluorescence Measurements of Atomic Oxygen Using Two Calibration Methods

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About