Coupled Fluid Dynamics and Material Response simulations for Nitrogen Arc Jet flows

In this study, we are simulating the thermal response of a cylindrical PICA sample encircled with an impermeable graphite ring heated up inside the AHF facility of NASA Ames Research Center. We characterized the experimental conditions in the nitrogen flow environment using US3D and, then, we simulated the thermal response of the material using Icarus always validating against thermocouple measurements. The B-prime equilibrium approach showed excellent agreement with the experimental measurements of temperature along the stagnation line, while 2D simulations addressed significant deviations observed at higher heating rates, highlighting the need to account for multi-dimensional effects. Improved coupling assumptions had minimal impact on in-depth temperature predictions, affirming established methodologies and suggesting continued relevance of neglecting cold-to-hot wall corrections under similar conditions.