Masato Funatsu

Reduction of radiative heating due to a SiC ablation layer

The effectiveness of SiC ablation layer was investigated numerically for the radiative heating from the high-temperature shock layer to a wall surface using a very simplified shock layer with the wall-surface reflectance. Considering the entry into the atmosphere of the planet Jupiter, it was assumed that the shock layer consisted only of the chemical species originated from the atmosphere and the ablation layer from the SiC heat shield. In the calculation of the radiative heat flux with the incident angle, molecular bands, atomic lines, and continuum emission were all included. It was found that SiC ablation material was effective in reducing the radiative heat flux to the wall surface, to the same extent as carbon/carbon material.

Experimental Study of Intense Radiation around Si-Based Heat-Resistant Materials in Air Plasma Freejets

When a spacecraft enters the Earth’s or outer planet’s atmosphere at a hypervelocity, an extremely strong shock wave is formed over the spacecraft. In general, the aerodynamic heating from such a flowfield to the spacecraft is caused by the transport phenomena. Usually, the heating is so severe that heat protection by an ablation method is required.