Material response modeling of Stardust and MSL using PATO

The Porous-material Analysis Toolbox based on OpenFOAM-extend (PATO) is a modular analysis platform specifically implemented to test innovative physics-based models for porous materials submitted to high-temperature environments or other unusual conditions. The governing equations implemented in the different modules are volume-averaged forms of the mass-, momentum-, and energy-conservation equations for porous media. Current developments are focussed on ablative materials. PATO is currently composed of two types of modules: (1) global analysis modules, that may be used to run a full ablative material response, with an applied/macroscopic scale point of view; (2) elementary analysis modules, that may be used to study specific fundamental aspects, with a detailed/microscopic scale point of view. Examples of global and elementary analysis applications are presented: volume-averaged simulation of the oxidation of the fibers in a carbon-fiber preform, multi- dimensional pyrolysis-gas flow in a cylinder facing an arc-jet, comparison of equilibrium and finite-rate chemistry in a carbon/phenolic ablative material. The proposed work aims to validate PATO using flight experiment. The first test-case is Stardust, a re-entry capsule that returned on earth on January 15, 2006. Post-flight analysis\cite{stackpool} have shown that the preflight prediction of the material response did not agree with the observations. The PICA surface recesses far less than predicted, and the pyrolysis zone boundary did not mach the estimated value. Moreover, more accurate post-flight analysis still failed to reproduced the results correctly. More recently, the Mars Science Laboratory successfully landed the Curisosity on the surface of Mars. For the first time, an exo-planetary mission spacecraft had its heat-shield instrumentalized, using the state-of-the-art MEDLI sensor array. Direct measurement of heat flux, temperature, recession rates and pressure were taken, and sent back to earth. Once again, it was clear the although the material response design tools did an excellent job of designing an adequate Thermal Protection System. However, these tools failed to replicate the behavior measured by MEDLI, even using