NASA SBIR 2005 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Combustion Research and Flow Technology,
6210 Kellers Church Road
Pipersville ,PA 18947 - 1020
(215) 766 - 1520

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Richard G Wilmoth
wilmoth@craft-tech.com
124 Burnham Place
Newport News, VA  18947 -1020
(757) 595 - 7315

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
A hybrid continuum/noncontinuum computational model will be developed for analyzing the aerodynamics and heating on aeroassist vehicles. Unique features of this model include (1) the ability to model rarefied flows with localized continuum features at high altitudes, (2) the ability to model both ablative and non-ablative thermal protection systems, and (3) the ability to model multiple firings of reaction control jets. The model will permit analyzing high-speed, nonequilibrium flows about entry and aeroassist vehicles based on extensions to three-dimensional Navier-Stokes and Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) codes. Extension will include effects of liquid and solid particulates along with gaseous species, which should significantly enhance the ability to analyze complex ablation effects. The coupling of these tools to include modeling of multiple reaction-control-jet firings will provide essential data for assessing the aerothermodynamic performance for a wide range of vehicle designs over a wide range of vehicle altitudes and flight conditions. The improved accuracy offered by our proposed hybrid modeling approach offers significant benefits in the design of vehicles for both unmanned planetary missions and manned missions to the Moon and Mars.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed hybrid computational model has potential application to the design and analysis of a broad class of NASA vehicles that experience flight through Earth or other planetary atmospheres under extreme heating conditions. Examples of these vehicles include those being designed to use aerocapture to achieve a low-cost orbit around Neptune and Titan. The model has particular relevance to the design of manned vehicles for return to Earth from lunar and Mars missions that will likely use ablative heat shields for thermal protection such as the proposed Crew Exploration Vehicle.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed hybrid computational model has potential application to design and analysis in a variety of fields concerned with nano-processes, with DOD interest in missile detection and tracking, and RV discrimination, and with various processes that occur in an gaseous environment including (1) solid state materials processing involving laser ablation, (2) solid sampling analysis through plasma spectrochemistry, and (3) solid hydrogen particle ablation occurring in air breathing supersonic combustion.

NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING

Ablatives Aerobrake Simulation Modeling Environment