A technique for evaluating the Jovian entry-probe heat-shield material with a gasdynamic laser

The paper presents a technique for evaluating the Jovian entry-probe heat-shield material with a gasdynamic laser. This entry probe of Project Galileo will incorporate a forebody heat shield of carbon phenolic ablative; at the expected peak radiant intensity of 42 kW/sq cm this material can be evaluated by a CO2 gasdynamic laser. The typically quasigaussian spatial distribution of the laser output beam is converted to a spatially uniform beam by a new optical integrator; the ablation results can be related to the imposed intensity and then to the flight situation with a uniform beam. The tests show that the carbon phenolic tends to spall under intense radiation, and this process is quantified by a particle capture technique.