Title:

Investigating Multi-Layered Cold Spray Technology for Spacecraft Thermal Protection Systems

This work evaluates a four-layer thermal protection system (TPS) for the –Y side panel of the Hermes Alpha Mk 3 capsule, employing cold-sprayed metallic and ceramic layers to meet mass (< 2.12 kg), temperature (≤ 1402 °C), and convective heat-flux (9.2 kW/m²) requirements. A Mach 2 side-wall CFD in SimScale is scaled to Mach 12 stagnation conditions via a recovery-factor approach; resulting convective fluxes drive a 1D thermal-resistance network to size each layer. A baseline Cerawool-insulated sandwich panel, an all-cold-spray stack, and a no-insulation thickened buffer are compared. The Cerawool design meets all requirements within a mass budget. The all-cold-spray option, sized thermally and mass-limited, exceeds the mass cap, showing that pure metal-sprayed insulation cannot alone satisfy thermal and mass constraints. A sandwich-panel fabrication method is proposed, and challenges in layer compatibility and cyclic durability are discussed. Recommendations for future transient simulations, material validation, and prototype testing conclude the study.

Name

Comment*

Comments are viewable only by submitter

Captcha*