Thermomechanical Behavior of Superalloy Thermal Protection System Under Aerodynamic Heating

Abstract

This study investigated the thermomechanical behavior of a superalloy thermal protection system panel using a combination of experiments and numerical simulation. A superalloy thermal protection system panel was created by sandwiching a thermal insulation material and two superalloy plates with the support of spacer structures. The applied temperature profile was calculated from aerodynamic heating data. The thermal protection system panel was tested for three thermal cycles (approximately three missions). Thermal deformation of the thermal protection system panel was measured using a three-dimensional digital image correlation method. The results indicate that the presented thermal protection system panel provided good thermal protective performance under a thermal loading of 1023 K (750°C) with a heat-shielding index of 78% in the steady-state condition. The crucial finding is the permanent deformation of the thermal protection system panel after the first thermal cycle test. The thermomechanical coupled simulation results reveal the occurrence of a permanent deformation due to the plastic deformation of the spacer supporting structure, which was also observed in this Paper’s experiment. This study offers an indispensable understanding of the thermomechanical response of the thermal protection system panel, which is crucial for preventing damage to the thermal protection system panel and for modifying the structural design of the supporting structure in the thermal protection system panel.