Atomistic simulation of damage in carbon-carbon composite from impact with water droplets at hypersonic velocity

MD Al Amin and S Roy, CARBON, 245, 120729 (2025).

DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2025.120729

Carbon-carbon (C-C) composites used in hypersonic airframes, specifically at the leading edge, experience extreme thermo-mechanical stresses and environmental conditions that can lead to physical and chemical erosion of the material. This study employs reactive molecular dynamics (RMD) to simulate the water droplet's impact transiting through a shockwave prior to impact on a novel C-C composite at hypersonic velocity. The composite consists of simulated carbon fibers embedded within a glassy carbon matrix derived from the pyrolysis of polyfurfuryl alcohol (PFA), modeled using ReaxFF potential. The polymerization and pyrolysis processes are precisely modeled using RMD simulations, closely matching experimental findings. To emulate the realistic flight environment, the simulation incorporates a pre-formed air shockwave layer through which the water droplet travels before striking the heated composite surface at hypersonic velocity results in material degradation due to impact as well as chemical ablation due to oxidation. This approach enables the evaluation of mechanical damage as well as chemical degradation in C-C composites, an aspect often neglected in purely mechanical simulations like finite element analysis or peridynamics. The insights gained here are critical for advancing predictive models of erosion on C-C composites and guiding the design of next-generation thermal protection materials for hypersonic aerospace applications.

Return to Publications page