Modeling adhesion and aerodynamic removal of particles and spores from substrates

Abstract

During launch operations, mission critical hardware and materials are encapsulated in a fairing prior to deployment. Depressurization can induce particle removal from fairing walls and redistribute them onto the payload. This poses serious challenges for current and future missions. This includes organic, inorganic, and biological material which can contaminate the surrounding environment. Given the risks associated with these events, efforts have been made to perform predictive simulations of particle contamination and redistribution. This work outlines the modeling efforts related to adhesion and aerodynamic removal of particles for prediction of redistribution in fairing environments. Physics-based models for adhesion and removal mechanisms are discussed. This includes the application of existing particle and spore adhesion models. Validation is performed for simplified canonical flow configurations. Future work regarding model improvements and extensions to large scale simulations is also discussed.