Characterization and Model Development for an Experimental Carbon-phenolic-ablator

Current materials of interest to NASA, such as PICA and AVCOAT, are considered ITAR restricted. This restriction makes them very difficult to use in the open research community. To facilitate interactions with NASA and to address the use of ITAR data within a university, a new experimental carbon-phenolic has been created. This material, per its structure, is intentionally designed so that it cannot be used on a re-entry spacecraft. The material, however, has yet to be characterized for usage in material response models. Such a model will allow more students, like undergraduate students during the summer, to contribute to the project without necessitating to control the release of sensitive data. It will also allowed international students to participate openly, and transparently, in the development of physical models that are pertinent to NASA, without having to worry about ITAR restrictions. It will even allow the international community to participate in similar ways. In order to design a material model, several physical parameters are necessary. These include conductivity, anisotropic conductivity, anisotropic permeability, porosity permeability function, surface reactivity, fiber structure, condensation/evaporation and gas phase kinetics. For each of these parameters a series of experimental and numerical tests will be performed. These includes mico-CT scans, TGA analysis, guarded hot plate analysis and flow tube experiments. All these tests will be conducted for the virgin state of the material, as well as for the final, charred state. In order to validate the model, a series of arc-jet experiments will be performed. The new material model will be tested in advances material response code such as KATS and PATO, and their sensitivity and pertinence to the simulation will be evaluated.