Protection of pyrolysis gases combustion against charring materials' surface ablation

Charring ablation materials are widely used for thermal protection systems in a vehicle during hypersonic reentry. The pyrolysis gases from the charring materials can react with oxygen in the boundary layer, which makes the surface ablation rate decrease. The problem of protection of pyrolysis gases combustion against charring materials' surface ablation is solved by the detached normal shock wave relations and the counterflow diffusion flame model. The central difference format for the diffusion term and the upwind scheme for the convection term are used to discretize the mathematical model of the counterflow diffusion flame. Numerical results indicate that the combustion of pyrolysis gases in the boundary layer can completely protect the materials surface from recession when the velocity of pyrolysis gases injecting to the boundary layer is higher than the critical velocity. There is an allometric relationship between the critical velocity and Mach number, and the combustion heat has little influence on the temperature distribution originating from the aerodynamic heating. This study will be helpful for the design of the thermal protection system in hypersonic reentry vehicles. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.