Infra-red and vibration tests of hybrid ablative/ceramic matrix technological breadboards for earth re-entry thermal protection systems

• Published in: Acta astronautica Vol. 134; pp. 85 - 97
• Main Authors: Barcena, Jorge, Garmendia, Iñaki, Triantou, Kostoula, Mergia, Konstatina, Perez, Beatriz, Florez, Sonia, Pinaud, Gregory, Bouilly, Jean-Marc, Fischer, Wolfgang P.P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elmsford Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2017; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Ablative material; Ablative materials; Adhesives; Ariane launch vehicle; Atmospheric entry; Atmospheric models; Atmospheric re-entry; Ceramic matrix composite; Ceramic matrix composites; Ceramics; Composite materials; Computer simulation; Earth atmosphere; Finite element method; Fluctuations; Flux; Heating; Infra-red tests; Insulation; Joining; Protection systems; Thermal protection; Thermal protection systems; Thermal shock; Thermocouples; Tiles; Vibration; Vibration analysis; Vibration tests; Ceramic matrix composite; Adhesives; Thermal protection systems; Joining; Vibration tests; Atmospheric re-entry; Infra-red tests; Ablative material
• ISSN: 0094-5765; 1879-2030
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2017.01.045

A new thermal protection system for atmospheric earth re-entry is proposed. This concept combines the advantages of both reusable and ablative materials to establish a new hybrid concept with advanced capabilities. The solution consists of the design and the integration of a dual shield resulting on the overlapping of an external thin ablative layer with a Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) thermo-structural core. This low density ablative material covers the relatively small heat peak encountered during re-entry the CMC is not able to bear. On the other hand the big advantage of the CMC based TPS is of great benefit which can deal with the high integral heat for the bigger time period of the re-entry. To verify the solution a whole testing plan is envisaged, which as part of it includes thermal shock test by infra-red heating (heating flux up to 1MW/m2) and vibration test under launcher conditions (Volna and Ariane 5). Sub-scale tile samples (100×100mm2) representative of the whole system (dual ablator/ceramic layers, insulation, stand-offs) are specifically designed, assembled and tested (including the integration of thermocouples). Both the thermal and the vibration test are analysed numerically by simulation tools using Finite Element Models. The experimental results are in good agreement with the expected calculated parameters and moreover the solution is qualified according to the specified requirements.
•New hybrid ablative/ceramic thermal protection system shield concept.•Design, construction and validation of breadboards for atmospheric earth re-entry.•Verification approach in terms of thermal and vibrational loads validation.•Important contributions towards the full development of the system.