RAY METHOD OF SOLUTION OF THE ABLATION PROBLEM

A. G. Shatalov

UDC 536.2.01

Consideration is given to a three-dimensional problem 
of heating of a half-space by the Gaussian energy flux with allowance 
made for the heat-flux inertia. It is assumed that the ablation front 
is formed at the points at which the temperature is equal to the melting 
temperature and the Stefan condition is satisfied. The mechanism of 
removal of mass is not considered. Using the ray method and taking 
into account three expansion terms, an ablation-surface equation and 
temperature have been obtained. Account for the inertia of the heat 
flux leads to the fact that the ablation-front velocity at the initial 
instant of time is finite. The condition for the onset of ablation 
of the material at the initial instant of time has been obtained. 
The solutions for the fronts of ablation and temperature are illustrated 
by the graphs.

Voronezh Military Aviation Engineering Institute, Voronezh, 
Russia. Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 76, No. 
5, pp. 25-29, September-October, 2003. Original article submitted 
January 29, 2002; revision submitted March 19, 2003.