Computational Assessment of Thermal Protection System Damage Experienced During STS-118

摘要

In response to thermal protection system tile damage that occurred during the ascent portion of space shuttle mission STS-118, rapid turnaround computational fluid dynamic simulations were performed on the damage site during the mission. The purpose of the computational effort was to provide insight into the flow physics and determine heating augmentation bump factors in and around the damage site. Damage analysis teams at the NASA Ames and NASA Langley Research Centers used automated local cavity simulation procedures to generate 12 three-dimensional simulations in less than 18 h during the mission. The computational fluid dynamic results compared closely with the engineering results used as inputs to the vehicle thermal analysis models and supported the recommendation of the damage assessment team to fly the Orbiter back as is without requiring the astronauts to perform a damage site repair in situ.