Numerical reconstruction of spalled particle trajectories in an arc-jet environment: Cylinder and Hemicylinder samples

It is essential to evaluate the spallation phenomenon’s effect compared to other ablative mechanisms to determine its significance. Therefore, numerical reconstruction of particle trajectories is employed on experimental data to estimate the mass loss caused by the spallation process. Experimental trajectories corresponding to hemicylinder and cylinder samples are considered for this work. The reconstruction results for both samples show similar behaviors, with most particles being ejected from the curved surfaces. Particles eject from the curved surface range in size between 10 microns and 100 microns, and they are ejected with a velocity of around 70 m/s at an angle between 20 degrees and 60 degrees. On the other hand, the particles ejected from the flat surface are micron-sized and either have high ejection velocities (above 100 m/s) with low ejection angles (below 20 degrees) or have moderate ejection velocities (below 50 m/s) in the direction opposite to the flow. However, the latter occurrence is for a minor fraction of particles. Performing additional reconstructions for more trajectories on both samples can help further investigate these results and increase the understanding of the spallation phenomenon.