European Experimental Reentry Testbed Winglet: From In-Flight Characterization to SCIROCCO Test

Abstract

Thiswork is dedicated to the aerothermodynamic characterization, both inflight and atwind-tunnel conditions, of the ultrahigh temperature ceramic winglet that will embark on the European Experimental Reentry Testbed of the European Space Agency. The experimental test has been executed in the Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali SCIROCCO plasma wind tunnel on a winglet qualification model. The aim of the test was to reproduce the total thermal load,which thewingletwill be subjected to during the reentry trajectory, allowing preflight qualification and verification of materials and sensing equipment. Detailed three-dimensional computations in plasma-wind-tunnel conditions have allowed the verification of the test requirements and provided information about the physical phenomena that can cause dangerous local overpressures and overheatings on the capsule thermal protection system.The actual test condition has been rebuilt after the test bymeans of three-dimensional simulations; particular attention has been paid in modeling surface catalysis and emissivity. Finally, the aerothermodynamic code has been coupled with a thermal code to account for material thermal conduction. Numerical results have been compared in terms of pressure and temperature with experimental measurements showing good agreement.