Abstract
An experimental investigation related to the thermal protection system (TPS) interfaces of the intermediate experimental vehicle has been carried out in the Plasmatron facility at the von Karman Institute for fluid dynamics. The objective of this test campaign is to qualify the thermal behaviours of two different TPS interfaces under flight representative conditions in terms of heat flux and integral heat load (~180 kW/m2 for 700 s). Three test samples are tested in off-stagnation configuration installed on an available flat plate holder under the same test conditions. The first junction is composed of an upstream ceramic matrix composite (CMC) plate and an ablative P50 cork composite block separated by a gap of 2 mm. The second one is made of an upstream P50 block and a downstream ablative SV2A silicon elastomer block with silicon-based filler in between. A sample composed of P50 material is tested in order to obtain reference results without TPS interface effect. The overheating at the CMC–P50 interface due to the jump of the catalytic properties of the materials, and the recession/swelling behaviour of the P50–SV2A interface are under investigation. All the test samples withstand relatively well the imposed heat flux for the test duration. As expected, both the ablative materials undergo a thermal degradation. The P50 exhibits the formation of a porous char layer and its recession; on the other hand, the SV2A swells and forms a fragile char layer.
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This paper is based on a presentation at the 8th European Symposium on Aerothermodynamics for Space Vehicles, March 2–6, 2015, Lisbon, Portugal.
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Ceglia, G., Trifoni, E., Gouriet, JB. et al. Experimental investigation on IXV TPS interface effects in Plasmatron. CEAS Space J 8, 65–75 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-015-0108-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-015-0108-y