Thermal conductivity prediction of aerogel considering heat treatment effect and the application to a TPS of long endurance HFVs

PurposeFor a thermal protection system (TPS) of long endurance hypersonic flight vehicle (HFV), its thermal insulation property not only determines by the manufactured morphology but also changes along time. A thermal conductivity prediction model for aerogel considering heat treatment effect is carried out and applied to solve the heat conduction problem of a TPS. The aim of this study is to provide theoretical and numerical references for further development of aerogels applying to TPSs.Design/methodology/approachA thermal conductivity prediction model for aerogel is established considering treatment effect. The heat conduction problem of a TPS is derived and solved by combining the differential quadrature method and the Runge-Kutta method. The prediction results of aerogel thermal conductivities are verified by comparing with those in literature, while the calculated temperature field of TPS is verified by comparing with that by ABAQUS.FindingsNumerical results show that when applying the current prediction model, the calculated high temperature area in the aerogel layer is narrowed due to the decrease of the thermal conductivity during heat treatment process.Originality/valueThis study will be beneficial to carry out the precise design of TPS for long endurance HFVs.