In the early days of space exploration, the development of thermal protection systems for reentry vehicles was mainly based on an experimental approach, both for design of materials and for testing. The concept of ablative material was discovered during this period of trial and error, resulting in the ideal matter to isolate and protect reentry rockets and space vehicles from the hyperthermal effects of the environment. In Ablative Thermal Protection Systems Modeling, Georges Duffa explains the history of ablative materials and looks into the future of its design process. The objective of this book is to develop physical skills in the key scientific areas applied to the modeling of thermal protection.

Topics Discussed

Modeling based on small physics scales

Thermodynamics and transport properties

Gas kinetics

Radiative transfer

Physical and chemical reactions (homogeneous and heterogeneous)

Fluid mechanics and effects of turbulence on physical matter

Previously Unpublished Information

Transport properties approximation

Equilibrium thermodynamics in variable elemental composition medium

Ablation of glassy materials

Roughness setup and effects

Radiative transfer in materials