Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablators (PICA) for Discovery class missions

Tran, Huy K.; Johnson, Catherine C.; Rasky, Daniel J.; Hui, Frank; Hsu, Ming-Ta; Chen, Y.

doi:10.2514/6.1996-1911

Cited by 213 publications

(164 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…2). These data are combined with literature data for the PICA 5,6) multiplied by a constant, c PPICA Â k vPICA ðTÞ, where k vPICA ðTÞ is the thermal conductivity of the PICA with a density of approximately 300 kg/m 3 and c PPICA is a constant to connect the two sets of data smoothly. The reference value for the thermal conductivity of the char material k chref is assumed to be the same as that of the virgin material k vref (k chref ¼ k vref ).…”

Section: Ablation Analysis Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figures 9-11 show the relationships between the surface temperature T s and the effective heat of ablation H ef f of the LATS, the high-density CFRP used as the heat shield material for the REM capsule, 4) and the PICA, 5,6) respectively. The effective heat of ablation H ef f has been used in many studies to evaluate the thermochemical performance of charring ablators.…”

Section: Thermochemical Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…3) NASA previously developed a lightweight CFRP called the phenolic impregnated carbon ablator (PICA), which has a density that ranges from 224 to 1,041 kg/m 3 . 5,6) A PICA with a density of 270 kg/m 3 was used as the heat shield material for the Stardust spacecraft, 7,8) which collected a sample from the comet Wild-2. Although this spacecraft was exposed to approximately 8.5 MW/m 2 of severe heat flux, it was able to return safely.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thermochemical Performance of a Lightweight Charring Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic

Okuyama

Kato

Ohya

2013

Trans. Japan Soc. Aero. S Sci.

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A new class of lightweight carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP)-the lightweight ablator series for transfer vehicle systems (LATS)-has recently been developed. The LATS is fabricated by heating and pressurizing a material in which resin is impregnated in the laminated carbon fiber felt. A characteristic required to ensure the excellence of a conventional lightweight CFRP ablator of the LATS is the simplicity of the resin impregnation process. Since dried bulk density can be easily controlled, this manufacturing method is beneficial for use in the aerospace industry. Here, the ablation characteristics of this material under high-enthalpy airflow are described by a recently developed computer code to simulate the one-dimensional transient thermal behavior. The validity of the mathematical model and the applicability of the ablation code are then discussed by comparing the simulated and experimental results of arc-heated tests with the LATS. A new index adopted in this study predicted the mass loss rate; the measured and estimated values of the total mass loss rate in various test conditions are in good agreement. Thus, a heated LATS material shows excellent performance characteristics for use in re-entry vehicles, and its surface and in-depth temperatures can be estimated using the developed analysis code.

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Section: Ablation Analysis Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Thermochemical Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thermochemical Performance of a Lightweight Charring Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic

Okuyama

Kato

Ohya

2013

Trans. Japan Soc. Aero. S Sci.

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“…By Sumio KATO, 1) Shoichi MATSUDA, 1) Keiichi OKUYAMA, 2) Kenta GIBO, 3) Hiroaki OYA, 4) Akihiro WATANABE, 1) Naoyuki SHIMADA 1) and Shunsuke SAKAI The effects of heat load, ablator density, and backup structure, etc. upon the heat shield performance of the lightweight phenolic carbon ablators named LATS were investigated using a one-dimensional ablation analysis code.…”

Section: Study Of the Effects Of Heat Load Ablator Density And Backumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Until now various kinds of ablative materials with various densities have been developed. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] In the design of a heat shield system of a re-entry vehicle, a lightweight requirement on the ablator is very critical. The thickness constraint on the ablator is also important.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study of the Effects of Heat Load, Ablator Density and Backup Structure upon the Thermal Protection Performance of Heat Shield Systems Consisting of Phenolic Carbon Ablators

Kato

Matsuda

Okuyama

et al. 2016

AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY JAPAN

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The effects of heat load, ablator density, and backup structure, etc. upon the heat shield performance of the lightweight phenolic carbon ablators named LATS were investigated using a one-dimensional ablation analysis code. The ablator density was assumed to be from about 260 to 1000kg/m 3 . Heat flux time histories of a rectangular pattern were assumed, where cases of constant heating duration time and constant accumulated heat load (up to 600MJ/m 2 ) were considered. The heating level was assumed to be from 1 to 10MW/m 2 , which means that the ablator surface is in the region of diffusion control oxidation/sublimation. The materials of the backup wall are assumed to be aluminum, stainless steel and high density CFRP. Main findings are: (1) For a low heat flux q with the same heating duration time tq, the necessary thickness, with which the maximum back surface temperature equals to the pre-determined allowable temperature, is nearly constant as the density v changes. On the other hand, the necessary thickness increases largely when q is larger and v is smaller. The ablator necessary mass increases with the increase of v and q for the same tq.

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Detecting Upward Directed Charged Particle Fluxes in the Mars Science Laboratory Radiation Assessment Detector

Appel

Koehler

Guo

et al. 2018

Earth and Space Science

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The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity, operating on the surface of Mars, is exposed to radiation fluxes from above and below. Galactic Cosmic Rays travel through the Martian atmosphere, producing a modified spectrum consisting of both primary and secondary particles at ground level. These particles produce an upward directed secondary particle spectrum as they interact with the Martian soil. Here we develop a method to distinguish the upward and downward directed particle fluxes in the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) instrument, verify it using data taken during the cruise to Mars, and apply it to data taken on the Martian surface. We use a combination of Geant4 and Planetocosmics modeling to find discrimination criteria for the flux directions. After developing models of the cruise phase and surface shielding conditions, we compare model-predicted values for the ratio of upward to downward flux with those found in RAD observation data. Given the quality of available information on Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft and rover composition, we find generally reasonable agreement between our models and RAD observation data. This demonstrates the feasibility of the method developed and tested here. We additionally note that the method can also be used to extend the measurement range and capabilities of the RAD instrument to higher energies. Plain Language SummaryThe MSL rover Curiosity is exposed to energetic particles from above and below on the Martian surface. Particles enter the Martian atmosphere from above and travel through it until they reach the ground. Particles lose energy and can produce secondary particles while passing through the atmosphere, resulting in an energy distribution on ground level that is different from that on the top of the atmosphere. The resulting particles produce an upward directed particle distribution in the soil. We develop a method to distinguish the upward and downward particle fluxes in the RAD instrument, verify it using data taken during the cruise to Mars, and apply it to data taken on the Martian surface. We use a combination of models to find criteria for discriminating the flux directions. After developing models of the cruise phase and surface shielding conditions, we compare simulated values for the ratio of upward to downward flux with those found in observation data. We find generally reasonable agreement between our models and RAD observation data. This demonstrates the feasibility of the method developed and tested here. The method can also be used to extend the measurement range and capabilities of the RAD instrument to higher energies.

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Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablators (PICA) for Discovery class missions

Cited by 213 publications

References 2 publications

Thermochemical Performance of a Lightweight Charring Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic

Thermochemical Performance of a Lightweight Charring Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic

Study of the Effects of Heat Load, Ablator Density and Backup Structure upon the Thermal Protection Performance of Heat Shield Systems Consisting of Phenolic Carbon Ablators

Detecting Upward Directed Charged Particle Fluxes in the Mars Science Laboratory Radiation Assessment Detector

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