Numerical modeling of spallation for ablative material in arc jet environment

The proposed research activity aims to better understand the e.ects of spalled particles ejected from the heat shields of re-entry vehicles. Recently, the HYMETS arc jet facility at NASA Langley has observed such particles when submitting ablative material to re-entry like conditions. Using an hypersonic CFD code with ballistic particle tracking capabilities, the conditions of the experiment will be model, and the chemical and the thermal e.ects of the presence of those particles will be assessed. A better understanding of the e.ects and consequence of the spalled particles in the shock layer will enable a better design of heat shield. Calculations dating from more than 20 years ago hinted that those particles may have enough momentum to reach the shock layer of the the vehicle, during re-entry. However, the very existence of such particles has always been