Simulation of thermionic thermal shielding during convective heating of a composite shell

There is currently under way an effort to develop high-speed flying vehicles capable of maneuvering in dense atmosphere. These include descent vehicles of advanced re-usable spacecraft and recoverable launch vehicle stages. These high-speed flying vehicles are exposed to high dynamic and thermal loads, which may result in their breakup and changes in their aerodynamic properties. Therefore, it is critical to provide thermal shielding for their structural elements. A promising solution for solving this problem is to use thermionic technology - the electronic cooling resulting from thermal emission of electrons from the emitter surface. This technology makes it possible to convert thermal energy generated in convective heating directly into electric energy. To find a high-precision solution of this scientific and engineering problem, it is necessary to develop mathematical and physical simulations of such systems taking into account the intricate manner in which the high-enthalpy flows interact with thermal shielding material, where structural elements of the flying vehicle itself take part to a large extent in the process of their cooling. The application of such an approach will make it possible to simulate thermionic thermal shielding systems of high-speed flying vehicles under conditions representing actual loads along their trajectories.