Multiphysics coupled fluid/thermal/ablation simulation of carbon/carbon composites

A coupled fluid/thermal/ablation analysis for a carbon/carbon composite leading edge in hypersonic reentry environments was conducted. A finite rate surface ablation model for carbon materials was incorporated into the aerothermodynamics computational fluid dynamics code to simulate the nonequilibrium gas-surface interactions, and then the computational fluid dynamics solver was coupled with a thermal analysis, finite element method solver. The gas and solid regions were coupled at the surface by appropriate energy and mass balances. A mesh movement algorithm was implemented in the finite element method to achieve surface recession. The capabilities of this coupled method were demonstrated by simulating the thermal and ablation behaviors of a wedge-shaped leading edge in hypersonic flows. The effect of the nose shape changeon the ablation process was also discussed. The coupling method developed in this work could be used to simulate aerothermodynamics and carbon ablation during Earth reentry.