UDC 629.7.018.3:536.24+536.33

K. N. Shukla1), A. Pradeep2), 
and S. S. Suneesh2)

THERMAL PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF SILICA TILES

Thermal response of the nonablating ceramic tiles is studied 
by the finite element method. A continuum model is used to determine 
thermal conductivity of porous materials. The temperature distribution 
for the one-dimensional model is compared with the available arc-jet 
result. Also presented are the 2D and 3D temperature contours and 
the heat flux distributions for silica tiles. The expression for the 
pressure distribution in a silica tile is derived.

1)Karunya University, Coimbatore-641114, India; 
email: kn_shukla@rediffmail.com; 2)College of Engineering, 
Thiruvananthapuram-695016, India. Original article submitted November 
16, 2005; revision submitted January 3, 2006.