SPECTRAL SCIENCES, INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: AF161-092

Description

ABSTRACT: The characterization of novel thermal protection system (TPS) materials is key to the mission success of future hypersonic vehicles.Non-intrusive methods, based on spectroscopic signatures, can provide information on the state of the TPS materials and surrounding shock layer.However, the close coupling of the TPS material response with the high-temperature gas dynamics and finite-rate chemistry create a strong non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) environment that must be taken into account to properly interpret measurements.To date, no end-to-end simulation tool exists that connects the advanced material response, chemistry, gas flow, and particulates to the electro-optic infrared (EO/IR) signature.The goal of this R&D by Spectral Sciences, Inc. is to develop new simulation tools to create a material characterization testbed with EO/IR signatures.Phase I would provide a proof of principle framework for the simulation tool, with focus on evaluating material characterization from spectroscopic measurements of emitting surfaces, NLTE gas products, and embedded micro-capsules.In Phase II, the software will be further extended and validated to enable a better understanding of advanced TPS material response.Finally, it will be used to update material thermodynamic models for a wide range of advanced TPS materials.; BENEFIT: The proposed toolset and upgraded simulation capabilities will have wide application for hypersonic flow problems, including the development of military hypersonic vehicles and their TPS materials and the modeling of reentry flows for missile defense. The software will enable characterization of advanced materials under a wide range of hypersonic conditions.Further applications could include development of design sensor concepts for intercept and tracking of current and future hypersonic and reentry weapons systems.Military applications also include analysis of intelligence data.Furthermore, work on validating and hardening the proposed toolset will aid other DoD programs that use the underlying computational fluid dynamics and radiation transport libraries.Commercial applications consist of design of reentry systems for NASA and commercial transport systems. In addition, the proposed software complements existing commercial continuum fluid dynamics software, providing gas/flame diagnostics modeling tools for high temperature flows.