A Hypersonic Flow Effect on the Melting Rate of a Heat-Protective Surface under Degradation Conditions

The paper presents the results obtained for the distribution of heat flux incident upon a refractory plate of a hypersonic flight vehicle moving at space velocities at various distances from the Earth's surface. The paper also provides the results of studying phase transitions in the near-wall boundary layer occurring during the hypersonic flow over the ablating surface. The effect of the catalytic wall on heat flux is analyzed. The emphasis is on the analysis of mass loss from the surface of high-velocity flight vehicles based on detailed consideration of the mechanism of heterogeneous catalytic reactions taking place under the surface mass transfer conditions. A temperature distribution is provided across the thickness of the boundary layer at the stagnation point of a blunt-nosed body with a refractory coating for a specific section of the flight path. The mass loss from the surface of crystalline refractory bodies is determined.