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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1974

Evaluation of the energy transfer in the char zone during ablation. Part 2: In-depth response of ablative composites, volume 1

The decomposition of ablative composites is described along with the transport phenomena of pyrolysis gases which result from the decomposition of these plastics as they flow through the porous char of char-forming ablators. The pyrolysis products are those formed by the thermal degradation of nylon-phenolic resin and silicone elastomer composites. Emphasis is placed on the nature and extent of chemical reactions of the pyrolysis products and the char, along with the energy absorbed by the combined pyrolysis and char zone. Chemical reactions with thermodynamically consistent kinetic data are determined in order to develop a realistic analysis for predicting the thermal performance of ablative heat shields.

Pike, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Heat and Mass Transport from Thermally Degrading Thin Cellulosic Materials in a Microgravity Environment

Attention is given to a theoretical model describing the behavior of a thermally thin cellulosic sheet heated by external thermal radiation in a quiescent microgravity environment. This model describes thermal and oxidative degradation of the sheet and the heat and mass transfer of evolved degradation products from the heated cellulosic surface into the gas phase. Two calculations are carried out: heating without thermal degradation, and heating with thermal degradation of the sheet with endothermic pyrolysis, exothermic thermal oxidative degradation, and highly exothermic char oxidation. It is shown that pyrolysis is the main degradation reaction. Self-sustained smoldering is controlled and severely limited by the reduced oxygen supply.

Kushida, G.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Formation, Structure and Properties of Amorphous Carbon Char from Polymer Materials in Extreme Atmospheric Reentry Environments

Amorphous carbonaceous char produced from the pyrolysis of polymer solids has many desirable properties for ablative heat shields for space vehicles. Molecular dynamics simulations are presented to study the transformation of the local atomic structure from virgin polymer to a dense, disordered char [1]. Release of polymer hydrogen is found to be critical to allow the system to collapse into a highly coordinated char structure. Mechanisms of the char formation process and the morphology of the resulting structures are elucidated. Thermal conductivity and mechanical response of the resulting char are evaluated [2]. During reenty, the optical response and oxidative reactivity of char are also important properties. Results of ab initio computations of char optical functions [3] and char reactivity [4] are also presented.

Lawson, John W.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Numerical analysis of the transient response of an axisymmetric ablative char layer considering internal flow effects

The differential equations governing the transient response of the char layer of an ablating axisymmetric body, internal pyrolysis gas flow effects being considered, have been derived. These equations have been expanded into finite difference form and programed for numerical solution on a digital computer. Numerical results compare favorably with simplified exact solutions. The complete numerical analysis was used to obtain solutions for two representative body shapes subjected to a typical entry heating environment. Pronounced effects of the lateral flow of pyrolysis gases on the mass flow field within the char layer and the associated surface and pyrolysis interface recession rates are shown.

Pittman, C. M.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Liquid rocket engine self-cooled combustion chambers

Self-cooled combustion chambers are chambers in which the chamber wall temperature is controlled by methods other than fluid flow within the chamber wall supplied from an external source. In such chambers, adiabatic wall temperature may be controlled by use of upstream fluid components such as the injector or a film-coolant ring, or by internal flow of self-contained materials; e.g. pyrolysis gas flow in charring ablators, and the flow of infiltrated liquid metals in porous matrices. Five types of self-cooled chambers are considered in this monograph. The name identifying the chamber is indicative of the method (mechanism) by which the chamber is cooled, as follows: ablative; radiation cooled; internally regenerative (Interegen); heat sink; adiabatic wall. Except for the Interegen and heat sink concepts, each chamber type is discussed separately. A separate and final section of the monograph deals with heat transfer to the chamber wall and treats Stanton number evaluation, film cooling, and film-coolant injection techniques, since these subjects are common to all chamber types. Techniques for analysis of gas film cooling and liquid film cooling are presented.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1987

New Polymeric Precursors of Silicon Carbide

Silicon carbide made by pyrolizing polymers. Method conceived for preparation of poly(decamethylcyclohexasilanes) as precursors for preparation of silicon carbide at high yield. Technical potential of polysilanes as precursors of SiC ceramics being explored. Potential limited by intractability of some polysilanes; formation of small, cyclic polycarbosilane fragments during pyrolysis; and overall low char yield and large shrinkage in conversion to ceramics.

Litt, M.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Pyrolysis Rate and Yield Strength Reduction Incarbon Fiber and Glass Fiber Composites Underreentry Heating Conditions

The behavior of composite materials, specifically carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) and glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP), under reentry conditions poses a problem for space debris reentry risk modeling. Since these materials pyrolyze rather than melt and their different components demise at different rates, modeling their destruction to determine ground impact risk is complex. Modern spacecraft are using these materials in ever-greater quantities owing to their superior strength-to-weight characteristics, and this has required that the orbital debris community improve its understanding of how these materials demise on reentry. The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office undertook an extensive test campaign to better understand the rate at which several types of GFRP and CFRP materials pyrolyze under reentry heating conditions and how that pyrolysis affects the ultimate strength of the material. GFRP with a polyester resin (G10/FR-4) and CFRP with epoxy, cyanate ester, vinyl ester, and phenolic resins were tested. The test campaign was carried out at the Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Torch Facility at the University of Texas at Austin. Because the ICP facility operates in a shirt-sleeve environment, test samples can be changed within seconds or minutes, allowing many samples to be tested in a short period. Two heat flux rates, 20 W/m2 and 30W/m2, and two oxygen concentration conditions, 0% and 2% of atmospheric, were applied to all five types of material. To measure both the char rate and the effect of pyrolysis on the ultimate material strength, two types of test were carried out for each material: a char rate test on a ~10 mm thick sample of material and an in-situ bending stress test of a ~2 mm thick sample of material. Measurements of the char rate showed very similar average pyrolysis front velocity in epoxy resin CFRP as in G10 at 3.6 mm/min and 3.4 mm/min, respectively. However, the total mass loss rate in theG10 was nearly double that of the CFRP at 3.8 g/min and 2.2 g/min, respectively. This result represented a slow ablation rate of carbon fibers in the CFRP at the temperatures encountered in low Earth orbit reentry and a comparatively rapid removal of the glass fibers in G10 due to melting and spallation. Pyrolysis front velocity was more significantly affected by the type of plastic than the type of fiber, with the cyanate ester CFRP samples displaying an average pyrolysis front velocity of only 1.9 mm/min. Similarly, the effect of thermal exposure on the ultimate strength of the material depended heavily on the type of plastic and very little on the type of fiber in the material. Epoxy, vinyl ester, and polyester resins all behaved very similarly, with complete structural failure at between 400 J/g and 600 J/g of specific absorbed heat. Phenolic and cyanate ester resins, on the other hand, displayed a change in structural properties that was only barely measurable with the current apparatus even after the maximum exposure time tested. These data are being incorporated into a numerical model of the ablation and demise of composite materials that will be used to more accurately calculate the ground casualty risk of future spacecraft.

Benton R. Greene↗
NASA NTRS1979

Pyrolysis of polymeric materials. II - Effect of chemical structure and temperature on char yield and flammability

Various polymeric materials were evaluated at different temperatures for relative flammability as defined by the HC value, a measure of the concentration of combustibles related to the concentration representing the lower limit of flammability. Flammability generally decreased with increasing char yield. This appears to support the hypothesis that increasing char yield decreases flammability by reducing the probability of reaching the lower flammable limits.

Hilado, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Global Kinetic Constants for Thermal Oxidative Degradation of a Cellulosic Paper

Values of global kinetic constants for pyrolysis, thermal oxidative degradation, and char oxidation of a cellulosic paper were determined by a derivative thermal gravimetric study. The study was conducted at heating rates of 0.5, 1, 1.5, 3, and 5 C/min in ambient atmospheres of nitrogen, 0.28, 1.08, 5.2 percent oxygen concentrations, and air. Sample weight loss rate, concentrations of CO, CO2, and H2O in the degradation products, and oxygen consumption were continuously measured during the experiment. Values of activation energy, preexponential factor, orders of reaction, and yields of CO, CO2, H2O, total hydrocarbons, and char for each degradation reaction were derived from the results. Heat of reaction for each reaction was determined by differential scanning calorimetry. A comparison of the calculated CO, CO2, H2O, total hydrocarbons, sample weight loss rate, and oxygen consumption was made with the measured results using the derived kinetic constants, and the accuracy of the values of kinetic constants was discussed.

Kashiwagi, Takashi↗
NASA NTRS2000

Tar Production from Biomass Pyrolysis in a Fluidized Bed Reactor: A Novel Turbulent Multiphase Flow Formulation

A novel multiphase flow model is presented for describing the pyrolysis of biomass in a 'bubbling' fluidized bed reactor. The mixture of biomass and sand in a gaseous flow is conceptualized as a particulate phase composed of two classes interacting with the carrier gaseous flow. The solid biomass is composed of three initial species: cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. From each of these initial species, two new solid species originate during pyrolysis: an 'active' species and a char, thus totaling seven solid-biomass species. The gas phase is composed of the original carrier gas (steam), tar and gas; the last two species originate from the volumetric pyrolysis reaction. The conservation equations are derived from the Boltzmann equations through ensemble averaging. Stresses in the gaseous phase are the sum of the Newtonian and Reynolds (turbulent) contributions. The particulate phase stresses are the sum of collisional and Reynolds contributions. Heat transfer between phases, and heat transfer between classes in the particulate phase is modeled, the last resulting from collisions between sand and biomass. Closure of the equations must be performed by modeling the Reynolds stresses for both phases. The results of a simplified version (first step) of the model are presented.

Bellan, J.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Material Characterization and Modeling of Room Temperature Vulcanizing Silicone

Room Temperature Vulcanizing silicone (RTV) is a high-temperature adhesive that has successfully been used as a gap-filler between Thermal Protection System (TPS) tiles for heatshields on numerous missions. It is also used to bond instrumentation plugs such as temperature and pressure sensors into the heatshields. While RTV has been traditionally assumed to be a non-porous and non-ablating material, numerous experiments have shown that RTV pyrolyzes and becomes highly porous as it is heated. Heating RTV has also shown swelling, or intumescence, which can pose unique problems that lead to roughness induced boundary-layer transition, surface oxide formation and contamination of heat shield sensors. Therefore, it is crucial to understand and model the intumescence phenomenon of RTV. As data for RTV material properties is limited, the first step in modeling RTV is to collect material properties such as pyrolysis mass-loss, microstructure change, virgin and char porosity, etc. which was performed in our initial study. Additionally, thermomechanical properties such as Young’s modulus and Poisson ratio are required for modeling the intumescence of RTV, which were taken from literature and the coefficient of thermal expansion was collected using in-situ heating and Micro Computed Tomography (µ-CT) in previous studies. Finally, numerous other properties such as pyrolysis gas properties, virgin and char thermal conductivity and specific heat were compiled from previous experiments and literature into a material database that can be used for simulations. In Porous Material Analysis Toolbox based on OpenFOAM (PATO) [4], structural mechanics coupled with material response was used for simulating the intumescence of RTV as it is heated. However, since the permeability of the material is very low, the pyrolysis gas creates an internal pressure build-up as the material is being heated, significantly contributing to the deformation of the material. To correctly characterize this phenomenon, additional physics models were implemented into PATO's stress analysis solver, and results were compared with RTV dilatometry test data as a preliminary verification case. Future work will include experiments of RTV at the Plasmatron X facility and the in-situ heating cell with µ-CT, and improvement of simulation tools to more accurately model RTV intumescence.

TPS↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Material Properties and Modeling of Room Temperature Vulcanizing Silicone

Room Temperature Vulcanizing silicone (RTV) is a high-temperature adhesive that has successfully been used as a gap-filler between Thermal Protection System (TPS) tiles for heatshields on numerous missions. It is also used to bond instrumentation plugs such as temperature and pressure sensors into the heatshields. While RTV has been traditionally assumed to be a non-porous and non-ablating material, numerous experiments have shown that RTV pyrolyzes and becomes highly porous as it is heated. Heating RTV has also shown swelling, or intumescence, which can pose unique problems that lead to roughness induced boundary-layer transition, surface oxide formation and contamination of heat shield sensors. Therefore, it is crucial to understand and model the intumescence phenomenon of RTV. As data for RTV material properties is limited, the first step in modeling RTV is to collect material properties such as pyrolysis mass-loss, microstructure change, virgin and char porosity, etc. which was performed in our initial study. Additionally, thermomechanical properties such as Young’s modulus and Poisson ratio are required for modeling the intumescence of RTV, which were taken from literature and the coefficient of thermal expansion was collected using in-situ heating and Micro Computed Tomography (µ-CT) in previous studies. Finally, numerous other properties such as pyrolysis gas properties, virgin and char thermal conductivity and specific heat were compiled from previous experiments and literature into a material database that can be used for simulations. In Porous Material Analysis Toolbox based on OpenFOAM (PATO) [4], structural mechanics coupled with material response was used for simulating the intumescence of RTV as it is heated. However, since the permeability of the material is very low, the pyrolysis gas creates an internal pressure build-up as the material is being heated, significantly contributing to the deformation of the material. To correctly characterize this phenomenon, additional physics models were implemented into PATO's stress analysis solver, and results were compared with RTV dilatometry test data as a preliminary verification case. Future work will include experiments of RTV at the Plasmatron X facility and the in-situ heating cell with µ-CT, and improvement of simulation tools to more accurately model RTV intumescence.

PATO↗
NASA NTRS1987

Ceramic honeycomb structures and the method thereof

The subject invention pertains to a method of producing an improved composite-composite honeycomb structure for aircraft or aerospace use. Specifically, the subject invention relates to a method for the production of a lightweight ceramic-ceramic composite honeycomb structure, which method comprises: (1) pyrolyzing a loosely woven fabric/binder having a honeycomb shape and having a high char yield and geometric integrity after pyrolysis at between about 700 and 1,100 C; (2) substantially evenly depositing at least one layer of ceramic material on the pyrolyzed fabric/binder of step (1); (3) recovering the coated ceramic honeycomb structure; (4) removing the pyrolyzed fabric/binder of the structure of step (3) by slow pyrolysis at between 700 and 1000 C in between about a 2 to 5% by volume oxygen atmosphere for between about 0.5 and 5 hr.; and (5) substantially evenly depositing on and within the rigid hollow honeycomb structure at least one additional layer of the same or a different ceramic material by chemical vapor deposition and chemical vapor infiltration. The honeycomb shaped ceramic articles have enhanced physical properties and are useful in aircraft and aerospace uses.

Riccitiello, Salvatore R.↗
NASA NTRS2007

One-Dimensional Ablation with Pyrolysis Gas Flow Using a Full Newton's Method and Finite Control Volume Procedure

The development and verification of a one-dimensional material thermal response code with ablation is presented. The implicit time integrator, control volume finite element spatial discretization, and Newton's method for nonlinear iteration on the entire system of residual equations have been implemented and verified for the thermochemical ablation of internally decomposing materials. This study is a continuation of the work presented in "One-Dimensional Ablation with Pyrolysis Gas Flow Using a Full Newton's Method and Finite Control Volume Procedure" (AIAA-2006-2910), which described the derivation, implementation, and verification of the constant density solid energy equation terms and boundary conditions. The present study extends the model to decomposing materials including decomposition kinetics, pyrolysis gas flow through the porous char layer, and a mixture (solid and gas) energy equation. Verification results are presented for the thermochemical ablation of a carbon-phenolic ablator which involves the solution of the entire system of governing equations.

Amar, Adam J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Ceramic Honeycomb Structures and Method Thereof

The present invention relates to a method for producing ceramic articles and the articles, the process comprising the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and/or chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) of a honeycomb structure. Specifically the present invention relates to a method for the production of a ceramic honeycomb structure, including: (a) obtaining a loosely woven fabric/binder wherein the fabric consists essentially of metallic, ceramic or organic fiber and the binder consists essentially of an organic or inorganic material wherein the fabric/binder has and retains a honeycomb shape, with the proviso that when the fabric is metallic or ceramic the binder is organic only; (b) substantially evenly depositing at least one layer of a ceramic on the fabric/binder of step (a); and (c) recovering the ceramic coated fiber honeycomb structure. In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method for the manufacture of a lightweight ceramic-ceramic composite honeycomb structure, which process comprises: (d) pyrolyzing a loosely woven fabric a honeycomb shaped and having a high char yield and geometric integrity after pyrolysis at between about 700 degrees and 1,100 degrees Centigrade; (e) substantially evenly depositing at least one layer of ceramic material on the pyrolyzed fabric of step (a); and (f) recovering the coated ceramic honeycomb structure. The ceramic articles produced have enhanced physical properties and are useful in aircraft and aerospace uses.

Cagliostro, Domenick E.↗