Numerical Simulation for Thermal Shock Resistance of Thermal Protection Materials Considering Different Operating Environments

Abstract

Based on the sensitivities of material properties to temperature and the complexity of service environment of thermal protection system on the spacecraft, ultrahigh-temperature ceramics (UHTCs), which are used as thermal protection materials, cannot simply consider thermal shock resistance (TSR) of the material its own but need to take the external constraint conditions and the thermal environment into full account. With the thermal shock numerical simulation on hafnium diboride (HfB2), a detailed study of the effects of the different external constraints and thermal environments on the TSR of UHTCs had been made. The influences of different initial temperatures, constraint strengths, and temperature change rates on the TSR of UHTCs are discussed. This study can provide a more intuitively visual understanding of the evolution of the TSR of UHTCs during actual operation conditions.