Arcjet Testing and Thermal Model Development for Multilayer Felt Reusable Surface Insulation

Felt reusable surface insulation was used extensively on leeward external surfaces of the shuttle Orbiter, where the material is reusable for temperatures up to 670 K. For application on leeward surfaces of the Orion multipurpose crew vehicle, where predicted temperatures reach 1620 K, the material functions as a pyrolyzing conformable ablator. An arcjet test series was conducted to assess the performance of multilayer felt reusable surface insulation at high temperatures, and a thermal-response, pyrolysis, and ablation model was developed. Model predictions compare favorably with the arcjet test data.