Variable Curvature Thermal Protection Structures for Re-entry Vehicles

A smart thermal protection system is a new concept of adaptive structure conceived to work in a harsh environment as the atmospheric re-entry. Such a concept is proposed for morphing the leading edges or the nose of a space transportation system through the modification of its geometry during flight. The design process to achieve the optimal solution start with a selection of different concept design drafting the working principle of mechanisms able to displace the structure from one geometry to the other. The project has been developed in several phases with an increasing level of detail. Two concepts have been promoted for a full design analysis and presented in this paper. The analysis concern the study of the kinematisms with multibody codes in order to test the effectiveness of the actuating mechanism. The level of deformation assumed by all the element of the TPS and the relevant structure has been checked to verify the possible failure and the consequent structural damage of the TPS. Moreover the analytical assessment includes an effective material research and thermal and thermo-mechanical calculations. The FEM analysis is performed to reach the complete refinement of the mechanism and the results are compared with existing benchmark solutions.