Thermal Insulation Properties and Thermomechanical Properties of Metallic Thermal Protection Structure

The metallic cover plate thermal protection structure (MTPS) is one of the effective means to solve the aerodynamic heating problem of reusable launch vehicle in the reentry stage. Thermal cycling experiment was conducted to study the thermal insulation properties on a single-piece and a spliced MTPS fabricated with high-temperature nickel alloy and [Formula: see text] aerogel felt. The corresponding finite element models were established and validated through experimental results. With the models, the MTPS stiffness and its element strength were investigated. The results show that the thermal insulation properties of the single-piece MTPS remain stable within a specified number of thermal cycles, maintaining the temperature of cold surface below 250°C, whereas the thermal insulation property at the gap of the spliced MTPS diminishes due to crack generation in the [Formula: see text] aerogel at the gap. The connection brackets in the MTPS exhibit a thermal short-circuiting effect. The stress at the top and bottom ends of the connection brackets is great, making it susceptible to break. The stress distribution and stiffness of the spliced MTPS are similar to that of the single-piece MTPS. There are six potential primary failure modes for MTPS.