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Thermal Protection System Evaluation Using Arc-jet Flows: Flight Simulation or Research Tool?The arc-jet has been used to evaluate thermal protection systems (TPS) and materials for the past forty years. Systems that have been studied in this environmerd include ablators, active, and passive TPS concepts designed for vehicles entering planetary and Earth atmospheres. The question of whether arc-jet flow can simulate a flight environment or is it a research tool that provides an aero-thermodynamic heating environment to obtain critical material properties will be addressed. Stagnation point tests in arc-jets are commonly used to obtain material properties such as mass loss rates, thermal chemical stability data, optical properties, and surface catalytic efficiency. These properties are required in computational fluid dynamic codes to accurately predict the performance of a TPS during flight. Special facilities have been developed at NASA Ames Research Center to approximate the flow environment over the mid-fuselage and body flap regions of proposed space-planes type vehicles. This paper compares flow environments generated in flight over a vehicle with those created over an arc-jet test articles in terms of scale, chemistry, and fluid dynamic properties. Flight experiments are essential in order to validate the material properties obtained from arc-jet tests and used to predict flight performance of any TPS being considered for use on a vehicle entering the Earth atmosphere at hypersonic speed.
Document ID
20030014601
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Stewart, David A.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Venkatapathy, Ethiras
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
November 20, 2002
Subject Category
Nonmetallic Materials
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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