The spallation phenomenon was studied through numerical analysis using a coupled Lagrangian particle tracking code and a hypersonic aerothermodynamics com- putational fluid dynamics solver. The results show that car- bon emission from spalled particles results in a significant modification of the gas composition of the post-shock layer. Results from a test campaign at the NASA Langley HYM- ETS facility are presented. Using an automated image pro- cessing of short exposure images, two-dimensional velocity vectors of the spalled particles were calculated. In a 30-s test at 100 W/cm2 of cold-wall heat flux, more than 722 particles were detected, with an average velocity of 110 m/s.