Simulation of Small-Size Space Debris Impact on the Protective Shield of a Transformable Trap

Abstract

The growth in the number of space debris, especially small-size debris undetectable by radars, urges the development of protective equipment for the crucial satellites and space station. Passive multilayer shields are the most effective means of protection. As the shields are big, it makes sense to make them out of flexible composite materials that allow them to be deployed in orbit. The article determines the loads acting on the composite load-bearing frame of the trap for small-size debris during impact. For a rational choice of the structural trap layout and optimization of its design parameters it is critical to know these loads. The hypervelocity impact of the projectile on the shield was modeled in the Altair Radioss software package using a combined model based on the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamic (SPH) method and mesh finite elements. The simulation of the shield penetration at various locations was carried out. For each simulation case, a time history of the reaction force in the attachment point of the protective shield to the load-bearing frame was determined. It was shown that the maximum load of about 2000 N acts for around 6 milliseconds on the joint closest to the impact point for the debris projectile size of 10 mm and velocity of 2 km/s.