基于航天器解体事件的空间碎片寿命算法

研究了针对航天器解体事件所生成的空间碎片的寿命计算方法.给出了基于NASA标准航天器解体模型的航天器解体算法.该算法生成的一系列碎片参数,将作为寿命计算的初始条件.总结了现有求解碎片寿命的算法,并提出了一种半分析算法.该算法运用平均根数法的思路,计算了在J2摄动项的影响下,碎片的半长轴和偏心率的变化率;并采用微分积分法预报半长轴和偏心率随时间的变化.为了适应时变大气模型,该算法限制了计算步长.通过与数值法的比较分析了算法的计算速度和精度.选用了3种大气模型:SA76、GOST和MSIS-00,分析了不同大气模型在计算碎片寿命之间的差异.通过与P-78卫星解体事件的实测数据对比验证了整个算法的正确性.      

On the effect of considering more realistic particle shape and mass parameters in MMOD risk assessments

One of the primary mission risks tracked in the development of all spacecraft is that due to micro-meteoroids and orbital debris (MMOD). Both types of particles, especially those larger than 0.1 mm in diameter, contain sufficient kinetic energy due to their combined mass and velocities to cause serious damage to crew members and spacecraft. The process used to assess MMOD risk consists of three elements: environment, damage prediction, and damage tolerance. Orbital debris risk assessments for the Orion vehicle, as well as the Shuttle, Space Station and other satellites use ballistic limit equations (BLEs) that have been developed using high speed impact test data and results from numerical simulations that have used spherical projectiles. However, spheres are not expected to be a common shape for orbital debris; rather, orbital debris fragments might be better represented by other regular or irregular solids. In this paper we examine the general construction of NASA’s current orbital debris (OD) model, explore the potential variations in orbital debris mass and shape that are possible when using particle characteristic length to define particle size (instead of assuming spherical particles), and, considering specifically the Orion vehicle, perform an orbital debris risk sensitivity study taking into account variations in particle mass and shape as noted above. While the results of the work performed for this study are preliminary, they do show that continuing to use aluminum spheres in spacecraft risk assessments could result in an over-design of its MMOD protection systems. In such a case, the spacecraft could be heavier than needed, could cost more than needed, and could cost more to put into orbit than needed. The results obtained in this study also show the need to incorporate effects of mass and shape in mission risk assessment prior to first flight of any spacecraft as well as the need to continue to develop/refine BLEs so that they more accurately reflect the shape and material density variations inherent to the actual debris environment.     

柱状弹丸撞击防护屏形成碎片云材料状态特性研究

微流星体及空间碎片的高速撞击威胁着长寿命、大尺寸航天器的安全运行，导致其严重的损伤和灾难性的失效。为精确估计微流星体及空间碎片高速撞击防护屏所产生碎片云对舱壁的损伤，必须确定碎片云中三种状态材料的特性，建立了碎片云特性分析模型，分别计算了柱状弹丸撞击防护屏所产生碎片云以及碎片云中弹丸和防护屏材料三种状态物质的质量分布。通过计算分析可见，弹丸以不同速度撞击防护屏所产生碎片云三种状态物质的质量分布是不同的，速度增大，液化和气化增强，对靶件的损伤小。而在速度小于7km/s时，碎片云以固体碎片的形式存在，对靶件的损伤大。     

Faster algorithm of debris cloud orbital character from spacecraft collision breakup

Space debris is polluting the space environment. Collision fragment is its important source. NASA standard breakup model, including size distributions, area-to-mass distributions, and delta velocity distributions, is a statistic experimental model used widely. The general algorithm based on the model is introduced. But this algorithm is difficult when debris quantity is more than hundreds or thousands. So a new faster algorithm for calculating debris cloud orbital lifetime and character from spacecraft collision breakup is presented first. For validating the faster algorithm, USA 193 satellite breakup event is simulated and compared with general algorithm. Contrast result indicates that calculation speed and efficiency of faster algorithm is very good. When debris size is in 0.01–0.05 m, the faster algorithm is almost a hundred times faster than general algorithm. And at the same time, its calculation precision is held well. The difference between corresponding orbital debris ratios from two algorithms is less than 1% generally.     

弹丸撞击防护屏形成碎片云速度特性研究

微流星及空间碎片的高速撞击威胁着长寿命，大尺寸航天器的安全运行，导致其严重的损伤和灾难性的失效，为精确估计微流星及空间碎片主速撞击防护屏产生的碎片对舱壁的损伤，必须确定碎片云速度特性。文章在冲量和能量守恒的基础上，建立了碎片速度性分析模型，研究了碎片云的速度特性，得到了碎片云材料传播及碎片云喷射角随弹丸撞击速度的变化规律。     

Nuclear fragmentation database for GCR transport code development

A critical need for NASA is the ability to accurately model the transport of heavy ions in the Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) through matter, including spacecraft walls, equipment racks, etc. Nuclear interactions are of great importance in the GCR transport problem, as they can cause fragmentation of the incoming ion into lighter ions. Since the radiation dose delivered by a particle is proportional to the square of (charge/velocity), fragmentation reduces the dose delivered by incident ions. The other mechanism by which dose can be reduced is ionization energy loss, which can lead to some particles stopping in the shielding. This is the conventional notion of shielding, but it is not applicable to human spaceflight since the particles in the GCR tend to be too energetic to be stopped in the relatively thin shielding that is possible within payload mass constraints. Our group has measured a large number of fragmentation cross sections, intended to be used as input to, or for validation of, NASA’s radiation transport models. A database containing over 200 charge-changing cross sections and over 2000 fragment production cross sections has been compiled. In this report, we examine in detail the contrast between fragment measurements at large acceptance and small acceptance. We use output from the PHITS Monte Carlo code to test our assumptions using as an example ⁴⁰Ar data (and simulated data) at a beam energy of 650 MeV/nucleon. We also present preliminary analysis in which isotopic resolution was attained for beryllium fragments produced by beams of ¹⁰B and ¹¹B. Future work on the experimental data set will focus on extracting and interpreting production cross sections for light fragments.     

The ratio of hazardous meteoroids to orbital debris in near-Earth space

Orbital debris is known to pose a substantial threat to Earth-orbiting spacecraft at certain altitudes. For instance, the orbital debris flux near Sun-synchronous altitudes of 600–800 km is particularly high due in part to the 2007 Fengyun-1C anti-satellite test and the 2009 Iridium-Kosmos collision. At other altitudes, however, the orbital debris population is minimal and the primary impactor population is not man-made debris particles but naturally occurring meteoroids. While the spacecraft community has some awareness of the risk posed by debris, there is a common misconception that orbital debris impacts dominate the risk at all locations. In this paper, we present a damage-limited comparison between meteoroids and orbital debris near the Earth for a range of orbital altitude and inclination, using NASA’s latest models for each environment. Overall, orbital debris dominates the impact risk between altitudes of 600 and 1300 km, while meteoroids dominate below 270 km and above 4800 km.     

A study of the material density distribution of space debris

Material density is an important, yet often overlooked, property of orbital debris particles. Many models simply use a typical density to represent all breakup fragments. While adequate for modeling average characteristics in some applications, a single value material density may not be sufficient for reliable impact damage assessments. In an attempt to improve the next-generation NASA Orbital Debris Engineering Model, a study on the material density distribution of the breakup fragments has been conducted and summarized in this paper.     

卫星高压气瓶的超高速撞击试验

微流星体及空间碎片超高速撞击对在轨航天器构成了严重威胁,星上压力容器受空间碎片撞击后所产生的威胁是十分严重的,可能导致航天器发生灾难性失效,过早结束其使命。文章通过星上常用气瓶的超高速撞击试验,获取了不同弹丸撞击参数下气瓶器壁的通孔孔径,得到了在弹丸撞击速度为(6.5±0.3)km/s、无防护情况下气瓶器壁的弹道极限,并分析了导致充压气瓶灾难性失效的弹丸直径范围;通过对试验数据拟合,初步建立了弹丸正撞击速度为(6.5±0.3)km/s、无防护情况下气瓶器壁的通孔孔径预测公式,为航天器遭遇空间碎片撞击的风险评估及防护措施制定提供依据。     

深空探测返回舱着陆冲击动力学分析

为分析深空探测返回舱着陆冲击动力学问题,首先建立包括返回舱及着陆土壤在内的全柔体着陆冲击动力学分析模型,并利用"神舟号"载人飞船着陆冲击试验数据对土壤模型进行修正;然后利用非线性动力分析软件LS-DYNA对深空探测返回舱着陆冲击过程进行仿真分析。通过典型着陆工况计算,得到了返回舱着陆过程中姿态变化、应力分布、关键点加速度响应曲线及冲击能量分配等。仿真结果可为深空探测返回舱结构优化设计、着陆姿态选择及地面试验等研究提供参考。     

航天器设备动力学分析模型简化方法与应用

针对航天器设备因构成复杂引起的动力学分析模型建模困难问题,提出一种基于拓扑优化技术的有限元模型简化方法,以设备实测质量特性为约束条件,通过拓扑优化方法确定设备有限元模型可行设计空间中的材料分布,实现对结构刚度性能的模拟,获得满足动力学特性分析需要的简化的设备有限元模型。应用该方法创建了某星敏感器简化有限元模型,得到的星敏感器简化模型与产品实际质量、质心位置和转动惯量特性基本一致,并且前两阶频率分析值与试验值之间最大偏差约为30%。将该简化模型应用于其支撑结构的动态响应性能评估,两者组合体固有频率及加速度响应趋势的分析数据在450Hz以下的频率范围内与试验数据吻合较好,固有频率最大偏差约为39%。星敏感器简化模型的应用验证了基于拓扑优化技术的有限元模型简化建模方法的可行性,为航天器上复杂设备动力学分析有限元模型的简化建模提供了一种新的解决途径。     

Practical method to identify orbital anomaly as spacecraft breakup in the geostationary region

Identifying spacecraft breakup events is an essential issue for better understanding of the current orbital debris environment. This paper proposes an observation planning approach to identify an orbital anomaly, which appears as a significant discontinuity in archived orbital history, as a spacecraft breakup. The proposed approach is applicable to orbital anomalies in the geostationary region. The proposed approach selects a spacecraft that experienced an orbital anomaly, and then predicts trajectories of possible fragments of the spacecraft at an observation epoch. This paper theoretically demonstrates that observation planning for the possible fragments can be conducted. To do this, long-term behaviors of the possible fragments are evaluated. It is concluded that intersections of their trajectories will converge into several corresponding regions in the celestial sphere even if the breakup epoch is not specified and it has uncertainty of the order of several weeks.     

Laboratory calibration measurements of a piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate cosmic dust detector at low velocities

A cosmic dust monitor for use onboard a spacecraft is currently being developed using a piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate element (PZT). Its characteristics of the PZT sensor is studied by ground-based laboratory impact experiments using hypervelocity particles supplied by a Van de Graaff accelerator. The output signals obtained from the sensor just after the impact appeared to have a waveform that was explicitly related to the particle’s impact velocity. For velocities less than ∼6 km/s, the signal showed an oscillation pattern and the amplitude was proportional to the momentum of the impacting particle. For higher velocities, the signal gradually changed to a single waveform. The rise time of this single waveform was proportional to the particle’s velocity for velocities above ∼6 km/s. The present paper reports on results for the low velocity case and especially discusses the effect of an outer coating of the sensor with a paint, which is used to reduce heating by solar radiation.     

空间飞行器碎片防护结构的简化设计

给出一种基于实验和理论分析的航天器碎片防护结构简化设计方法 ,该方法可用于进行大型空间飞行器碎片防护结构的方案选择和初步结构设计。利用空间碎片的工程环境模型和防护结构几何经验公式 ,采用“设计碎片”的概念 ,对防护结构进行几何结构设计和质量估算 ,并采用改进的防护性能验证算法进行空间碎片的风险评估。通过对惠式防护结构的计算 ,得到的计算结果基本符合实际要求。     

Application of hydrocode modelling to the study of hypervelocity impact crater morphology

In order to obtain a better understanding and model of the natural and artificial particulate environment from measurements of impact damage features on returned spacecraft materials, it is necessary to be able to determine how the size and shape of an impact feature are related to the parameters of the impacting particle. The AUTODYN-3D hydrocode has been used to study the effects of projectile density, velocity and impact angle on the depth, diameter and ellipticity of the impact craters. The results are used to determine the distributions of crater depth to crater diameter ratios and of crater ellipticities to be expected on an aluminium surface exposed to an isotropic distribution of incident particles of given densities and velocities. Comparison of these calculated distributions with those observed for craters on aluminium clamps on various faces of the Long Duration Exposure Facility shows that particles with a wide range of densities, including significant proportions both greater and smaller than that of aluminium, were responsible for these craters.     

超高速撞击航天器二次碎片云能量特性分析

为了评估空间碎片超高速撞击航天器的碎片云破坏能力,挖掘超高速撞击数值模 拟结果数据的应用价值,基于9.53 mm铝球以6.64 km/s速度对2.2 mm铝靶撞 击的Ls-Dyna/SPH(Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamic)数值模拟研究结果,对靶后碎片云的 粒子动能进行求和统计,建立了碎片云比动能概念和函数形式;碎片云比动能综合考虑了靶 后所有碎片云粒子的动能,反映了一定距离处垂直于撞击方向平面上单位面积上的碎片云粒 子所蕴含的撞击能量;应用碎片云比动能概念,揭示出随着演化距离的增加,碎片云能量的 衰减规律;通过不同速度条件下的SPH计算,得到了碎片云的比动能函数的曲线形式随撞击 速度的变化规律;最后对采用2种材料模型进行数值模拟所对应的结果误差进行碎片云比动 能函数的曲线比较,反映出数值模拟中不同材料模型引起的差异.      

Characterizing space debris longitude-dependent distribution based on RAAN perturbation rate

The space debris environment is one of the major threats against payloads. Space debris orbital distribution is of great importance for space debris environment modeling. Due to perturbation factors, the Right Ascension of Ascending Node (RAAN) of space objects changes consistently, causing regular rotation of the orbit plane around Earth’s axis. Based on the investigation of the RAAN perturbation rate of concerned objects, this paper proposes a RAAN discretization method in order to present the space debris longitude-dependent distribution. Combined with two line element (TLE) data provided by the US Space Surveillance Network, the estimated value from RAAN discretization method is compared with the real case. The results suggest that using only the initial orbital data at the beginning of the time interval of interest, the RAAN discretization method is able to provide reliable longitude distribution of concerned targets in the next following period. Furthermore, spacecraft cumulative flux against space debris is calculated in this paper. The results suggest that the relevance between spacecraft RAAN setup and flux output is much smaller for LEO targets than MEO targets, which corresponds with the theory analysis. Since the nonspherical perturbation is the major factor for RAAN variation, the RAAN perturbation rate has little connection with the size of orbital objects. In other words, the RAAN discretization method introduced in this paper also applies to space debris of different size range, proposing a possible suggestion for the improvement of space debris environment engineering models.     

基于解体事件的空间碎片轨道演化算法研究

针对航天器解体事件所生成的空间碎片的演化过程,进行了数学分析,确定了新生成的空间碎片的速度增量,在该增量作用下碎片轨道会发生变更,本文根据该增量得出了空间碎片在轨道变更后的轨道根数,分析了在大气阻力摄动作用下,空间碎片的数目和轨道分布的演化情况,给出了相关结果,结果表明此算法可行。     

空间碎片超高速碰撞数值模拟的SPH方法

利用光滑质点动力学SPH(Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics)方法对Whipple防护结构在空间碎片超高速碰撞下的物理过程进行了数值模拟.在数值模拟中,为了充分发挥SPH方法和有限元方法FEM(Finite Element Method)的优点,利用有限元单元和SPH节点混合建模,将有限元单元和SPH节点(SPH nodes)通过定义接触条件相结合,在大变形和飞溅区域采用SPH节点建模,而小变形区域则采用有限元单元建模,从而大大节省求解时间,提高计算效率.计算结果表明,弹丸在穿透前板后,形成二次碎片,碎片云经膨胀和拉长,对后板造成轻微的损伤,这和文献的相关试验数据是符合的.利用SPH方法对空间碎片的超高速碰撞过程进行数值模拟,不仅很好地预测了Whipple防护结构的破坏情况,而且对整个碰撞过程,包括碎片云的形成、膨胀和拉长过程都有形象的描述,符合超高速碰撞的试验测试结果.