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.
Highlights
The Design for Demise (D4D), as promoted, e.g., via the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Clean Space initiative [1], is gaining attention as one of many approaches towards reducing the amount of debris that pollute the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment
Case-study 1: Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP). In this case-study, the numerical model was based on Equation (11), which considered the heat stored in the material, the heat due to conduction, the pyrolysis contribution and the heat exchanged between pyrolysis gases and charred region within this region, respectively [20]: ρcP
The following section shows the temperature profiles and the mass losses estimated with our numerical model and their comparison with the results found experimentally at Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme (IRS) [24]
Summary
The Design for Demise (D4D), as promoted, e.g., via the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Clean Space initiative [1], is gaining attention as one of many approaches towards reducing the amount of debris that pollute the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment. Expended launcher stages, decommissioned satellites and exploded or collided spacecraft have created a large amount of space debris leading to an increased risk for future space missions [2,3,4]. During re-entry, the space debris can break-up in small fragments that may impact the ground if they do not burn up completely [4]. Performing a controlled re-entry (i.e., the spacecraft undergoes an actively performed de-orbit maneuver to impact within an uninhabited area) is not always an option due to the increased costs and issues of technical reliability associated therewith [4,9]. A passive approach is arguably preferable, wherein the spacecraft’s constituent components burn up to a degree that the ground risk emanating from the sum of residual debris items is considered non-critical [4,10,11]
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