Numerical Investigation of Spalled Particle Behavior Ejected from an Ablator Surface

Abstract

During ablation experiments in an arc-heated facility, the presence of spalled particles has been observed upstream of a detached shock wave or a stagnation-point boundary layer. In the past experiments using spectroscopic measurement for nitrogen arc-jet, the CN violet band spectra owing to the spallation particles ejected from the ablator were observed upstream of the shock layer. Based on this fact, in this study, the flight path of a single spallation particle ejected into a nonequilibrium flow field is numerically analyzed and the particle properties are obtained. The simulation is carried out about a solid particle ejected vertically from the front surface of an ablator, including various initial speeds, sizes, and positions. Moreover, by classifying the obtained results, the particle behavior is carefully investigated and the possibility of a particle being observed upstream of a shock wave is discussed.