An Armadillo- Like Flexible Thermal Protection System for Inflatable Decelerators: A Novel Paradigm

作者：Natali Maurizio; Rallini Marco; Puglia Debora; Kenny Jose; Torre Luigi^*

来源：Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, 2014, 299(3): 379-390.

DOI：10.1002/mame.201300267

• advanced thermal testing
• inflatable deployable aeroshell
• polymeric ablatives
• thermal protection system

Polymeric ablative materials play a strategic role in the whole aerospace industry: they are used to produce the thermal protection system (TPS), which protects vehicles during the hypersonic flight through a planetary atmosphere. To date, TPSs are typically designed as rigid monolithic heat shields. Inflatable deployable aeroshells (IDAs) offer an alternative to rigid TPSs: IDAs are based on the use of flexible TPSs (FTPSs). State of the art FTPSs can handle heat fluxes up to approximately 20Wcm(-2). However, next generation FTPSs for IADs should be able to survive heat fluxes up to 150Wcm(-2). To satisfy these stringent requirements, we propose a radically brand-new paradigm of flexible TPS based on the use of state of the art elastomeric ablatives (EPDM/Aramid) employed to produce the insulation liners for solid rocket motors. This class of ablatives is able to survive heat fluxes in the range of (300-1000) W cm(-2). Most important, we envisioned to introduce an Armadillo-Like design in which a series of overlapping sacrificial movable tiles could work as a continuous flexible thermal barrier.

• 出版日期2014-3