High-Temperature Materials

Stan Bouslog
TPS Technical Discipline Lead
NASA Johnson Space Center

July 2021
 Outline

⚫ Why High-Temperature Materials?

➢ Industrial Uses
➢ Aerospace Vehicles
▪ Engines and Motors
▪ Hypersonic Thermal Protection
⚫ Thermal Protection Systems (TPS)
➢ Different Types of TPS
➢ Selecting a TPS
⚫ Historical TPS
➢ Apollo
➢ Space Shuttle Orbiter
⚫ TPS Now – Post-Shuttle
⚫ Future TPS
⚫ Questions
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High Temperature Materials: Industrial Uses

High Temperature = Temperatures > ~300 F

⚫ Energy Production
⚫ Fire Protection
⚫ Electronics
⚫ Material Processing – Ovens

Inconel 718 Turbine Carbon Fiber Boards Alumina Fiber Blankets

1300 F (700 C) >3000 F in vacuum 2900 F

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 High Temperature Materials: Aerospace
Vehicles
Commercial Aircraft
Rocket Motors

Titanium –
engine
compressor
and nozzle Carbon cloth
phenolic –
engine nozzle
Hypersonic Aircraft
Fibrous
Blankets Carbon-
Carbon
Inconel skin
Ti Frames

Ceramic
Tiles
X-15 Mach 6+
Orbiter Mach 25+ 4
 Why Thermal Protection
for Hypersonic Vehicles
10,000

9,000
Nitrogen Assumes T∞ =400 R
Dissociation
8,000

7,000
Above ~Mach 5,
Air Stagnation Temperature (F)

6,000 the thermal

Hi-Temp Air
environment
5,000
Oxygen
Dissociation
drives the need
4,000 for vehicle
thermal
3,000
Titanium melts
Steel/Inconel melts
protection.
2,000
Perfect Air
Aluminum melts
1,000

0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Mach Number

Ref.: Bertin, J.J., ‘Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics’ 5

 Approaches to Thermal Protection
⚫ Radiative Systems Ref: ‘Entry Thermal Protection,’
➢ Radiate heat away from surface NASA SP-8014, Aug. 1968
➢ Design implementation: High emittance surface
⚫ Heat-Sink Systems
➢ Absorb the heat
➢ Design implementation: High specific heat
⚫ Insulation Systems
➢ Slow the heat wave
➢ Design implementation: Low thermal conductivity
⚫ Ablative Systems
➢ Decomposition of material absorbs heat
➢ Design implementation: Prefer charring materials
⚫ Transpiration Systems
➢ Cool the boundary layer
➢ Design implementation: Inject fluid into boundary layer from surface
⚫ Active Cooling Systems
➢ Cool the surface with internal fluid
➢ Design implementation: Heat exchanger with cooling fluid 6
 TPS: Radiative Systems

Example: Orbiter Space Shuttle Leading Edge

q =T 4
convective surface

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 TPS: Heat Sink Systems

Cast Inconel Metallic Fillet

Example: X-33 Metallic Fillet

q = mC p tT
convective

Absorb heat into material

Why on X-33?
Thermal growth of wing resulted in need for gap in Advanced Carbon-
Carbon wing leading edge panels. Flow forced into gap was directed
to surface by metallic fillet. 8
 TPS: Insulation System

Example: Orbiter Tiles

T
−k = qconvection + q radiation
x x =0

Radiated
Convective Heating Heat Flux
Radiative Heating

Surface
Coating

Insulation
Conducted
Heat Flux
Adhesive
Carrier
Structure

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 TPS: Ablative Systems

Example: Apollo Heat Shield

10
TPS: Transpiration System

11
 TPS: Active Cooling

Example: Shuttle Main Engines

qconvective
Hot fluid out

Cool fluid in Liquid hydrogen flows

thru tubes.
Cools nozzle and
preheats hydrogen

Brazed Stainless Steel Nozzle

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 How to Select a TPS

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Missions Drive Environments

Lunar

Space Shuttle

Asteroid

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Reentry Environments Drive TPS Selection

450

400 Single-Use Ablators

350
Lunar Radiation Heating
300
Apollo Lunar Convective Heating
Heat Flux (W/cm2)

250 Missions STS-121 Entry Heating

BP1101

200
Reusable Tiles
150

100
Shuttle
50
Missions
0
0 250 500 750 1,000 1,250 1,500
Time (secs.)

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But, It’s More Than Reentry Heating

Separation Event
-Pyro shock On-Orbit
- Temperature Cycles
Ascent - Vacuum
- Aeroheating - Atomic oxygen
-Rapid pressure decrease - MMOD impact
- Plume Heating
- Debris impact

Reentry
Launch - High heating
-Vibro-acoustic - Dissociated Air
- Over-pressure
- Debris impact

Mission Sequence
of Environments
Landing
On the Pad
- Heat shield
-Humidity
separation
- Rain
- Lightning

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 Other Considerations
Manufacturing Processes
Penetrations thru TPS
& Supply Chain OV-103
Doors Flt 27
-ET Umbilical Lost
- Landing gear Elevon Tile
- Hatches

Windows
Antennas

Reaction Control
Orion System Jets
Shock Events
Launch Abort
Attachment
TPS Mass
WEIGHT

ET
Separation

TIME PICA Failure

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Radiant Heat Tests
• Radiant Heating
-Variable heat
- Variable pressure
•Large Test Articles
-TPS assemblies
- TPS penetrations
• Thermal Conductivity
• Thermal Model Validation
• Thermal induced deflections
TPS Testing
Arc-jet Tests
• Reentry Aerothermal Simulation
- Dissociated gas
• Small Test Articles
-TPS materials
- TPS penetrations
• Thermal/chemical behavior
• Thermal Response Model Validation
Structural Tests
• Structural Flexure
• Medium Test Articles
-TPS assemblies
- TPS penetrations
• Structural Model Validation
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 Results of Getting It Wrong
X-15 Ramjet Flight Test Columbia Accident

What Happened? What Happened?

Burn through and Loss of vehicle
near-structural and crew.
failure of pylon.
Why?
Why? Ascent impact
Underestimated damage to
heating due to Carbon-carbon
shock/shock leading edge.
interaction.
http://history.nasa.gov/x15lect/intro.html Columbia Accident Investigation Board, Aug. 2003
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 Historical
Thermal Protection Systems

Good Reference
Glass, David E., "Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) Thermal Protection Systems (TPS)
and Hot Structures for Hypersonic Vehicles;"; 15th AIAA International Space Planes
and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference, Dayton, OH; AIAA-2008-2682;
April-May 2008

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Manned Spacecraft Entry Vehicles

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Comparison of Manned Entry TPS

SHUTTLE
4/12/81 – 7/21/11
135 (133) flights

11 895 FT2
18 904 LB
1.7

Rigidized silica
fibers

9-22 LB/FT3

135 (133) FLIGHTS

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 Apollo TPS/Structure Configuration

AVCO 5026-39 HCG

(Filled Epoxy Novalac in
Fiberglas-Phenolic
Honeycomb)
Now manufactured by Textron

Heat shield Core from Apollo 11

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Apollo Ablator Thickness & Surface Recession
Distribution

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Physical Model of a Charring Ablator

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 Space Shuttle Orbiter TPS Configuration
• RCC - Reinforced Carbon-Carbon • AFRSI (FIB) - Advanced Flexible Reusable Surface Insulation
• HRSI - High-temperature Reusable Surface Insulation • FRSI - Flexible Reusable Surface Insulation
• LRSI - Low-temperature Reusable Surface Insulation • Penetrations - seals and thermal barriers

• RCC - Re-inforced Carbon-Carbon

• HRSI - High-temperature Reusable Surface Insulation

• LRSI - Low-temperature Reusable Surface Insulation

• AFRSI (FIB) - Advanced Flexible Reusable Surface

Insulation

• FRSI - Flexible Reusable Surface Insulation

• Penetrations - seals and thermal barriers

 Space Shuttle Orbiter RCC Components

Wing
Nose Cap
Leading
and Seals
Edge Panel

Chin Panel
and Seals

Forward ET
Attach Point
Arrowhead
RCC Plates
HRSI Tile System
 Orbiter TPS: Operational Issues
Flight Processing On-Orbit Inspections

Protruding Gap Filler

FRSI and Filler
Gap Bar
Fillers and
Thermal
Barriers EVA
FI Blankets During STS-114

ReWaterproofing RSI
Tiles

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 Launch Vehicles Need TPS
Aerodynamic Heating Heating

Plume-induced Heating

Space Shuttle Space Launch System

Retired 2011 1st Launch 2021
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 Current TPS
Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle SpaceX Dragon Capsule
Orion Heat Shield

Note:
SpaceX
makes their
own PICA.

Avcoat (Apollo) but in Block Form

Phenolic Impregnated
Carbon Ablator (PICA)

Mars 2020

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 TPS in the Future
Increase Robustness Reduce Weight

Graded Ablator
3-D Woven Carbon Fibers High Density to Lower Density
Infiltrated with Resin

Improve Manufacturing/ Reduce Costs

Conformable Ablator
Infiltrated Felts Let’s 3D Print it!
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Questions??

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