Prediction Accuracy of Thermal Response of Ablator Under Arcjet Flow Conditions

Abstract

Cloth-layered carbon fiber reinforced plastic ablator with a specific gravity of about 1.5 is developed to examine the prediction accuracy of analysis methods associated with the thermal response of ablator. Heating tests are carried out in the arcjet wind tunnel to quantify the thermal performance of ablator so developed. In the tests, the surface temperatures and in-depth temperatures of ablative test pieces are measured during the testing. Thermal response models of ablator are also developed in this study. Thermal conductivity measurements are conducted by using the steady-state method. Thermal diffusivity values of ablator are measured by using the laser-flash method. Thermal gravimetric analysis is also made to model the pyrolysis phenomena of ablating test piece. The experimental results obtained in the heating tests are analyzed by the one-dimensional ablation code with the thermal response models developed in this study. By comparing the calculated results and experimental results, the prediction accuracy of thermal response models of ablator is discussed.