Non-linear aero-elastic response of a multi-layer TPS
The aim of the present work is to present a computational study of the non-linear aero- elastic behavior of a multi-layered Thermal Protection System (TPS). The severity of atmospheric re-entry conditions is due to the combination of high temperatures, high pressures and high velocities, and thus the aero-elastic behavior of flexible structures can be difficult to assess. In order to validate the specific computational model and the overall strategy for structural and aerodynamics analyses of flexible structures, the simplified TPS sample tested in the 8' High Temperature Tunnel (HTT) at NASA LaRC has been selected as a baseline for the validation of the present work. The von Kármán's three dimensional large deflection theory for the structure and a hybrid Raleigh-Ritz- Galerkin approach, combined with the first order Piston Theory to describe the aerodynamic flow, have been used to derive the equations of motion. The paper shows that a good description of the physical behavior of the fabric is possible with the proposed approach. The model is further applied to investigate structural and aero-elastic influence of the number of the layers and the stitching pattern.
