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Design, integration and preliminary results of the IXV Catalysis experiment

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Abstract

The CATalytic Experiment (CATE) is an in-flight demonstration of catalysis effects at the surface of thermal protection materials. A high-catalytic coating was applied over the baseline ceramic material on the windward side of the intermediate experimental vehicle (IXV). The temperature jump due to different catalytic activities was detected during re-entry through measurements made with near-surface thermocouples on the windward side of the vehicle. The experiment aimed at contributing to the development and validation of gas/surface interaction models for re-entry applications. The present paper summarizes the design of CATE and its integration on the windward side of the IXV. Results of a qualification campaign at the Plasmatron facility of the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics are presented. They provided an experimental evidence of the temperature jump at the low-to-high catalytic interface of the heat shield under aerothermal conditions relevant to the actual IXV flight. These tests also gave confidence so that the high-catalytic patch would not endanger the integrity of the vehicle and the safety of the mission. A preliminary assessment of flight data from the thermocouple measurements shows consistency with results of the qualification tests.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the contribution of Dassault Aviation, TASI and ESA for supporting the design and realization of CATE in the framework of the IXV project. The installation and routing of the instrumentation was carried out by RUAG Space.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, 72, Chaussée de Waterloo, 1640, Rhode-Saint-Genèse, Belgium

    Alan Viladegut, F. Panerai & O. Chazot

  2. SAFRAN-Herakles, Les 5 chemins, 33185, Le Haillan, France

    T. Pichon

  3. Univ. Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UTBM, IRTES EA7274, 90100, Belfort, France

    P. Bertrand, C. Verdy & C. Coddet

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  1. Alan Viladegut
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  2. F. Panerai
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  3. O. Chazot
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  4. T. Pichon
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  5. P. Bertrand
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  6. C. Verdy
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  7. C. Coddet
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Correspondence to Alan Viladegut.

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Viladegut, A., Panerai, F., Chazot, O. et al. Design, integration and preliminary results of the IXV Catalysis experiment. CEAS Space J 9, 141–151 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-016-0136-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-016-0136-2

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