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Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Surface Volatilization Investigation Of Graphite, Mitchell Stern
Surface Volatilization Investigation Of Graphite, Mitchell Stern
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
The re-entry vehicle posseses enough kinetic energy that it becomes hypersonic while passing throughthe upper atmosphere. This kinetic energy is quickly transferred into thermal energy as the quiescent atmosphere turned hypersonics with reference to the vehicle suddenly stagnates. Furthermore, the high energy process of generating plasma also ablates the leading edge surfaces, causing reactions between the charged gasses and the solid material composing the thermal protection system (TPS) of the aircraft. These reactions can be exothermic an d pose an additional mode of heat transfer into the body of the aircraft. Learning more about the interactions within the boundary layer …
Absolute Number Density Measurements Of Atomic Species In Air And Nitrogen Plasmas, Jeffrey C. Schindler
Absolute Number Density Measurements Of Atomic Species In Air And Nitrogen Plasmas, Jeffrey C. Schindler
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
A vehicle reentering Earth's atmosphere at hypersonic velocities violently compresses the air in front of it, creating a shell of plasma at the surface. This plasma imparts energy onto the vehicle's surface via convective, radiative, and chemical heating. Currently, large uncertainties in measurements of surface reaction rates lead to over-designed thermal protection systems. Improvements in the precision of these measurements could substantially decrease the weight of the heat shield, freeing up space for additional fuel or human/scientific payload. This work aims to improve current methods for measurements of atomic number densities in plasmas, so that they may be applied to …
Investigation Of Pyrolysis Gas Chemistry In An Inductively Coupled Plasma Facility, Corey Tillson
Investigation Of Pyrolysis Gas Chemistry In An Inductively Coupled Plasma Facility, Corey Tillson
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
The pyrolysis mechanics of Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablators (PICA) makes it a valued material for use in thermal protection systems for spacecraft atmospheric re-entry. The present study of the interaction of pyrolysis gases and char with plasma gases in the boundary layer over PICA and its substrate, FiberForm, extends previous work on this topic that has been done in the UVM 30 kW Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Torch Facility. Exposure of these material samples separately to argon, nitrogen, oxygen, air, and carbon dioxide plasmas, and combinations of said test gases provides insight into the evolution of the pyrolysis gases as …