Solar thermal testing of ablators and composites
| DWPI Title: Thermal ablation testing apparatus for use with solar burner system for model validation of i.e. carbon-phenolic ablators, in fire and reentry environments, has external radiant heat source located to heat test sample through window, and pyrometer directed at test sample |
| Abstract: An apparatus for thermal ablation testing is provided. The apparatus comprises: a chamber; an optically transparent window in the chamber; a sample holder inside the chamber; a test sample in the sample holder; a number of bare-wire thermocouples connected to the test sample, wherein the thermocouples generate temperature data in the form of voltage; a mass balance inside the chamber, wherein the mass balance is configured to hold the sample holder and dynamically detect changes in mass of the test sample; an external radiant heat source configured to heat the test sample through the window; and a pyrometer directed at the test sample. |
| Use: Thermal ablation testing apparatus for use with a solar burner system for model validation of ablators i.e. carbon-phenolic ablators, in fire and reentry environments. |
| Advantage: The apparatus provides a high-heat flux radiant-heat facility for materials testing under well-controlled boundary conditions and simultaneous temperature and mass measurements and the solar burner system including the radiant-heat mass balance that produces data revealing pyrolysis rates in high-heat-flux environments, mitigates over-dependence on low-heating-rate laboratory measurements i.e. thermogravimetric analyzing, and directly measures quantities of interest for ablator or composite environmental coupling namely pyrolysis-gas efflux for fire simulations and blowing coefficient for ablation modeling by using the radiant-heat mass balance. |
| Novelty: The apparatus has an optically transparent window (212) fixed in a chamber (202). A sample holder (206) is fixed inside the chamber. A test sample (204) is located in the sample holder. Number of bare-wire thermocouples are connected to the test sample, where the thermocouples generate temperature data in a form of voltage. A mass balance (208) is located inside the chamber to hold the sample holder and dynamically detect changes in mass of the test sample. An external radiant heat source is located to heat the test sample through the window. A pyrometer is directed at the test sample, where the radiant heat source generates heat flux of 50-6000 Kilowatts per square meter. |
| Filed: 4/27/2023 |
| Application Number: US18139998A |
| Tech ID: SD 15745.0 |
| This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-NA0003525 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention. |
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