Arc-jet testing of UHTC demonstrators with a sharp profile

Abstract

The ultra-high-temperature ceramics (UHTCs) are currently the most studied key enabling technology for thermal protection structures (TPS) like wing leading edges, surface control components to be applied in the next generation of space vehicles flying at hypersonic speed or/and re-entering the Earth\u27s atmosphere. They are characterized by sharp profiles to increase performance and maneuvrability. Wedges with a very sharp profile (0.2 mm radius of curvature) and blunt hemispheric articles (5 mm radius of curvature) were produced in the system ZrB2-SiC. The dynamic response to oxidation of such UHTC demonstrators was studied under aero-thermal heating using a high enthalpy supersonic flow of a N2/O2 gas mixture in a plasma wind tunnel. Microstructural features of the reaction scale developed upon oxidation were analyzed and correlated to test conditions through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. The outputs of CFD simulations matched the in-situ determinations and the materials evolution during arc-jet testin