Hypervelocity impact on spacecraft carbon fibre reinforced plastic/aluminium honeycomb

Abstract

Samples of a spacecraft primary external wall structure, as used in a low earth orbit remote sensing platform, have been tested to determine the response to the hypervelocity impact and ballistic limit (for mm-sized impactors) of the 47 mm thick structure at 5 km/s. A strong dependence of the ballistic limit on projectile density was identified. This programme was carried out using the two-stage light gas gun at the University of Kent at Canterbury. The equivalent diameters of the front and rear holes for each impact were analysed as a function of the impactor parameters. Damage equations derived by other experimenters were compared to the experimental results. X-ray non-destructive testing was used to determine the level of internal honeycomb damage for a sample. The dependence of the witness plate damage (placed behind the target to capture any ejecta from the rear surface) on the impactor parameters was recorded. It was found that the use of ‘equivalent thicknesses’ of aluminium may not be appropriate as a general conversion factor for carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) facesheets. A simple damage equation is presented, based on the total hole size as a function of the impact energy. The ballistic limit cannot be defined solely in terms of impact energy and shows an additional dependence with projectile density. The amount and type of ejecta produced is a strong function of density and a less strong function of projectile diameter, and its production cannot be linked with the rear hole diameter.

Protecting Earth-orbiting spacecraft against micro-meteoroid/orbital debris impact damage using composite structural systems and materials: An overview

“…In doing so, it is perhaps the first effort that attempted to study obliquity effects in the highspeed impact of HC/SPs. The work performed, by Taylor et al (1997aTaylor et al ( ,b, 2003, Taylor (1998), andSchäfer (1999a), considered single as well as double-layer HC/SPs, and the use of multi-layer insulation blankets, either on its own or with a HC/SP. The studies concluded that double-layer honeycomb shielding, combined with a secondary shielding of internal components, wiring, etc., is a cost-and mass-effective way in which to enhance the robustness of a spacecraft operating in the meteoroid and orbital debris environment.…”

<title>Development of sensor technology to facilitate in-situ measurement of damgae in composite materials for spacecraft applications</title>

“…The impact damage created in the CFRP appeared similar in nature ( Figure 3) to that produced by hypervelocity (>5km/s) 1mm diameter particles with a similar density [12]. Specimens coated with a layer of aluminium exhibited a large delaminated region between this layer and the CFRP, with extensive rupturing of the aluminium layer ( Figure 4).…”

“…Hypervelocity impact in composite materials produces severe but localised deformation. The ballistic limit for puncture is a function of particle velocity, diameter and density, whilst the puncture diameter is linearly related to the cube root of the impact velocity [12]. However, literature on sub-perforation impact damage on composites is sparse.…”

Predicting the Perforation Response of Honeycomb Sandwich Panels Using Ballistic Limit Equations

“…The velocity axis shows the component of the projectile velocity that is normal to the shield surface. The information for HC/SPs with aluminum face sheets is obtained from [2,[6][7][8][9][10], whereas that for HC/SPs with composite face sheets comes from [3,[11][12][13][14][15][16]. In these figures, the sources of the data have been identified in general terms with regard to the organization performing the tests noted in those figures.…”