Abstract
The transient temperature distribution of the ultrahigh-temperature ceramic (UHTC) thermal protection system (TPS) of hypersonic vehicles is calculated using finite volume method. Convective cooling enables a balance of heat increment and loss to be achieved. The temperature in the UHTC plate at the balance is approximately proportional to the surface heat flux and is approximately inversely proportional to the convective heat transfer coefficient. The failure modes of the UHTCs are presented by investigating the thermal stress field of the UHTC TPS under different thermal environments. The UHTCs which act as the thermal protection materials of hypersonic vehicles can fail because of the tensile stress at the lower surface, an area above the middle plane, and the upper surface as well as because of the compressive stress at the upper surface. However, the area between the lower surface and the middle plane and a small area near the upper surface are relatively safe. Neither the compressive stress nor the tensile stress will cause failure of these areas.
Highlights
To obtain good aerodynamic characteristics, reentry and hypersonic vehicles require sharp nose cones and sharp leading edges, as well as nonablation thermal protection technique that can maintain the vehicle shapes
The aerothermodynamic analysis of the Ultrahigh-temperature ceramics (UHTCs) thermal protection system (TPS) was performed using computational fluid dynamics simulations coupled to a thermal analysis model [29]
Few of them focused on the heat transfer and failure mode analyses of the UHTC TPS
Summary
To obtain good aerodynamic characteristics, reentry and hypersonic vehicles require sharp nose cones and sharp leading edges, as well as nonablation thermal protection technique that can maintain the vehicle shapes. These vehicles usually fly in the atmosphere for long periods at speed of high Mach numbers and are often subjected to severe aerodynamic heating. This poses huge challenges for the thermal protection materials and structures of vehicles, such as the capability of withstanding ultrahigh temperature, chemical stability, and resistance to thermal shock, oxidation, and erosioncorrosion. Few of them focused on the heat transfer and failure mode analyses of the UHTC TPS
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