In the aerospace industry, re-entry vehicles and rocket engines are subjected to extremely high thermal solicitations. To withstand these conditions, materials that can undergo pyrolysis and/or surface erosion are used. These materials are called ablative materials.
Pyrolysis is the decomposition of the material under the effect of temperature. This endothermic chemical reaction produces gases that cool the material down as they escape and forms a charred layer that insulates the underlying structure.
Surface recession, caused by chemical or mechanical interactions with the external environment, also contributes to the heat dissipation by sacrifying material’s mass.
For many years, Marc – a nonlinear FEM solution from MSC Software – has been widely used by aerospace companies to simulate ablative materials.
In this webinar, we will demonstrate how:
During this webinar, we will discuss the modeling details for pyrolysis, surface energy balance and surface recession, as well as how to handle remeshing.
D
This webinar is relevant for simulation engineers and product designers who are looking for ways to predict the behaviour of thermal protection system (TPS) used in spacecraft re-entering the atmosphere or in rocket engines.
Sophie is a senior technical consultant at In Summa Engineering, focusing on nonlinear analyses. She holds a master’s degree in applied mathematics from the University of Bordeaux and has spent many years as a software developer, working with various aerospace companies. During these years, she contributed to developments for multiphysics and structural analyses in Marc, including the development of Marc’s ablative materials capabilities for multiple customers. A significant part of her work was dedicated to advancing this Marc feature, supporting high-performance aerospace applications.
