AblaNTIS-test-cases

Release notes First official version of the "AblaNTIS test cases" repository. Version used by VKI, SAMTETCH Siemens, and FGE within the ESA GSTP "AblaNTIS: Ablative TPS Numerical Test Cases—Mathematical Code Assessment & Improvement" (Contract no. 4000122914/18/NL/KML). Updated booklet PDF Released in Zenodo Known issues The recession data for the Exp-x-T-x cases in air atmosphere are affected by a synchronization error due to the missing data during the initial transient (up to ~7 s in the lowest heat-flux case). The reconstructed recession data start after this initial transient but have been erroneously set to start at t=0 in the surface_recession.dat files. This causes these files to generally include a duration of the injection (i.e., recession) duration shorter than the real one (e.g., given in the temperature mapping surface_temperature.dat files). The missing transient should be included at the beginning of the surface_recession.dat files with zero recession to solve this issue in future releases. The execution of the test cases revealed that the way the bottom of the sample (alumina and graphite pin) are represented in the numerical domain may be a source of errors. In particular, the prescribed temperature boundary condition imposed on one of the graphite bottom surfaces leads to graphite pin temperatures that deviate from the measurements. This has been shown to have a negligible impact on the results inside the ablator. However, it is suggested that future versions of the repository consider more realistic geometrical representations and boundary conditions for the alumina and graphite parts. The execution of the Exp-x-SEB-x cases revealed non-negligible differences with respect to the experimental data in terms of surface temperatures. It is suggested that the evaluation of the film coefficients used in the numerical test cases be revised/updated in the future by performing additional CFD simulations and/or Plasmatron tests.