A numerical study of the thermally-induced response of decomposing, expanding polymer composites

Abstract

Abstract.A numerical study of the thermally-induced response of two similar decomposing, expanding glass-filled polymer composites has been conducted. The study was performed using a newly developed numerical model, the accuracy of which was established by comparing predicted and experimental temperature profiles for one of the composites of interest. The results of the study were used to evaluate the effects of composition and processing history on the response of the materials.

Non-equilibrium theories for macroscale heat transfer: ablative composite layer systems

“…Concerning the macroscopic description of ablative layer pyrolysis, we found the same types of models. Most authors [1][2][3] use local thermal equilibrium models. Some authors, however, like Kansa et al [1] and Florio et al [4] have considered local thermal non-equilibrium models.…”

“…The second one has been written by Darmon and Balageas [2] for modeling heat and mass transfer in pyrolysable composites. The last one has been written by Henderson and Wiecek [3] who have studied the thermally-induced response of decomposing, expanding polymer composites. Since the objective of this paper is to discuss the relevance of thermal models, we present their results without the effects of material decomposing and expanding.…”

“…They are based on a descrip- tion of the heat transfer processes in terms of macro-scale models [1][2][3][4]. We can classify these studies in two categories.…”

“…We can classify these studies in two categories. In the first one, the authors [1][2][3] consider local thermal equilibrium processes, i.e., the macro-scale model at the composite scale involves a single continuum describing the macro-scale behavior of the phase mixture. To be clear, they…”

“…These models tend to underestimate the temperature for conditions corresponding to rocket liftoff [3,4]. Indeed gaps between experimental simulations and numerical simulations have been observed for a typical liftoff problem.…”