Page 11 - AEM-Newsletter-Spring-2023

Research projects
Kroells and other researchers from Schwartzentruber’s group are working on
other problems involving TPS erosion from particle impacts. They are examining TPS dust erosion from particle impact and heating by using a simulation tool, US3D, developed by Professor Graham Candler’s research group. US3D is capable of 3D simulations on complex geometries for compressible and reacting flows such as those that occur during atmospheric reentry. They showed that the surface erosion was almost completely insensitive to the drag and heating models but was very sensitive to the size distribution modeling. The group is also working to develop faster methods to explore particle impact on material surfaces. The results from all these studies are needed to inform
the experimental studies that NASA will do to support future Mars missions.
Looking to the future
Kroells will defend his thesis, “Investigation of Particle Effects on a Hypersonic Mars Entry” this Spring 2023 semester. He then plans to continue on in Tom Schwartzentruber’s lab as postdoctoral researcher.
STUDENT RESEARCH
Comparison of newly developed drag model with Henderson model for different Mach numbers
Dust particles being tracked through simulated hypersonic flow field
DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING AND MECHANICS 11