Micromechanical response of carbon fiber preform in high-temperature oxidizing environments

NASA’s growing interest in space exploration to the Moon and beyond has led to significant advancements in the development of state-of-the-art carbon-based thermal protection system (TPS) materials, like phenolic-impregnated carbon ablator (PICA). While effective models of these heat shields provide practical macroscale predictions, they come with the price of low resolution and large uncertainties ultimately leading to thicker, more costly TPS design. Reducing uncertainty and assuring mission success necessitates a deeper understanding of how the TPS materials breakdown in high-temperature oxidizing environments. Therefore, the proposed work is a computational and experimental study of the thermal and mechanical coupling of high-temperature oxidation of carbon. More specifically, this study will investigate the coupled chemical/mechanical microevolution for each fundamental component of the carbon preform in PICA—the dense carbon fibers (HOPG) and the material that holds them together (vitreous)—by pursuing the following specific aims: Aim 1) compute subsurface oxygen concentration profiles, Aim 2) compute traction-separation curves modified by oxygen, and Aim 3) study the microevolution of a single, model fiber with an interesting defect, and a couple of fused preform fibers, by integrating results from Aim 1 and Aim 2. The predicted contributions from this work will be instrumental in predicting TPS failure and will ultimately lead to a more optimized TPS design.

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