Thermal response of structural materials to intense energy deposition

The purposes of this thesis were to collect a body of experimental data documenting the thermal response of materials subjected to an intense energy deposition and to correlate the experimental data with a theoretical model of the phenomenon. Vaporization and melting of aluminum, SS 304, copper, molybdenum, and other metals were studied using a well calibrated electron beam. The tests were from 100 to 600 ms in duration with the energy density ranging from 0.2 to 6.2 kJ/cm2. For each material the net vaporization and average melt layer thicknesses were measured as functions of energy density. The experimental and theoretical results agree for the energy deposition thresholds required for vaporization and melting, particularly for single element materials. The functional increase of the vaporization thickness with increasing energy density is consistent between the model and the experimental data, but the current theory is relatively ineffective in predicting small amounts of vaporization. Sublimation was studied by subjecting Poco AXF5Q graphite to 100 to 400 ms energy depositions ranging from 0.4 to 4.3 kJ/cm2. The analytical model generally predicted the threshold and functional increase of sublimation with surface energy density