Modelling of Spall in an Anisotropic Aluminium Alloy

Spall caused by hypervelocity impacts at the lower range of velocities could result in significant damage to spacecraft. A number of polycrystalline alloys, used in spacecraft manufacturing, exhibit a pronounced anisotropy in their mechanical properties. The aluminium alloy AA 7010, whose orthotropy is a consequence of the meso-scale phase distribution or grain morphology, has been chosen for this investigation. The material failure observed in plate impact was simulated using a number of spall models. The Hugoniot elastic limit and spall strength have been studied as a function of orientation, and compared to experimental results.     

Comet Geology with Deep Impact Remote Sensing

The Deep Impact mission will provide the highest resolution images yet of a comet nucleus. Our knowledge of the makeup and structure of cometary nuclei, and the processes shaping their surfaces, is extremely limited, thus use of the Deep Impact data to show the geological context of the cratering experiment is crucial. This article briefly discusses some of the geological issues of cometary nuclei.     

超高速撞击条件下铝合金材料参数识别方法

在超高速撞击过程中,金属材料在大变形、高应变率条件下的材料参数获取是一个研究难点.在确定Steinberg本构模型和Gruneisen状态方程前提下,结合已有的物理试验结果,采用SPH(Smooth Particle Hydrodynamic)算法实现超高速撞击问题的数值模拟,定义优化目标为物理试验结果和仿真结果之间的相对误差值,利用连续响应面法SRSM(Successive Response Surface Method)对铝合金6061的Steinberg本构模型中的4个关键参数进行优化识别计算.经过识别的材料参数与物理试验的结果近似程度更好,证明了这种方法的正确性和可靠性.      

基于电学成像的蜂窝夹层结构超高速撞击损伤监测

针对航天器遭受空间碎片和微流星体撞击的问题,对蜂窝夹层结构的超高速撞击损伤监测进行研究。提出将碳纳米管薄膜共固化在蜂窝夹层结构面板表面使之具有自感应能力,结合电学成像技术对超高速撞击造成的损伤进行监测和识别。采用二级轻气炮对自感应蜂窝夹层结构进行了超高速撞击,在撞击前后分别向感应层注入微小的激励电流,根据边界电压变化重建损伤引起的电导率变化图像,从而提供有关撞击和损伤的信息。试验结果表明,基于碳纳米管薄膜的感应层性能良好,重建的电导率变化图像能够较好地反映损伤个数、位置和近似尺寸,验证了所提出技术方法的有效性,为航天器结构超高速撞击监测提供了一种新的技术手段。     

空间碎片超高速碰撞数值分析

采用光滑粒子流体动力学(SPH)方法对空间碎片超高速碰撞问题作了模拟分析,给出了靶孔直径和碎片云宽度随碰撞速度的变化、累积碎片分布、碎片云无量纲向前总动量随膨胀距离的变化、碎片云前端速度的变化规律以及碎片云速度矢量等。     

Finite Element Modelling of Failure of a Multi-Material Target due to High Velocity Space Debris Impacts

Lagrangian finite element methods have been used extensively in the past to study the non-linear transient behaviour of materials, ranging from crash tests of cars to simulating bird strikes on planes. However, as this type of space discretisation does not allow for motion of the material through the mesh when modelling extremely large deformations, the mesh becomes highly distorted. This paper describes some limitations and applicability of this type of analysis for high velocity impacts. A method for dealing with this problem by the erosion of elements is proposed, where the main driver is the definition of element failure strains. Results were compared with empirical perforation results and were found to be in good agreement. The results were then used to simulate high velocity impacts upon a multi-layered aluminium target in order to predict a ballistic limit curve. LS-DYNA3D was used as the FE solver for all simulations. Meshes were generated using Truegrid.     

Whipple防护结构超高速撞击极限分析

空间碎片的超高速撞击可能导致航天器发生严重的损伤甚至灾难性的失效，由于近地轨道上空间碎片的增加导致航天器的安全受到严重威胁，必须设置防护结构予以防护。本文从动力学分析入手，初步建立超高速撞击时Whipple防护结构的撞击极限方程，得到了与撞击极限相关的参数以及参数之间的关系，为实验提供基础。本文方程得到的撞击极限曲线与已有方程的撞击极限曲线吻合较好。     

Micro-meteoroids and space debris impact risk assessment for the ConeXpress satellite using ESABASE2/Debris

Micro-meteoroid and space debris impact risk assessments are performed to investigate the risk from hypervelocity impacts to sensitive spacecraft sub-systems. For these analyses, ESA’s impact risk assessment tool ESABASE2/Debris is used. This software tool combines micro-particle environment models, damage equations for different shielding designs and satellite geometry models to perform a detailed 3D micro-particle impact risk assessment. This paper concentrates on the impact risk for exposed pressurized tanks. Pressure vessels are especially susceptible to hypervelocity impacts when no protection is available from the satellite itself. Even small particles in the mm size range can lead to a fatal burst or rupture of a tank when impacting with a typical collision velocity of 10–20 km/s. For any space mission it has to be assured that the impact risk is properly considered and kept within acceptable limits. The ConeXpress satellite mission is analysed as example. ConeXpress is a planned service spacecraft, intended to extend the lifetime of telecommunication spacecraft in the geostationary orbit. The unprotected tanks of ConeXpress are identified as having a high failure risk from hypervelocity impacts, mainly caused by micro-meteoroids. Options are studied to enhance the impact protection. It is demonstrated that even a thin additional protective layer spaced several cm from the tank would act as part of a double wall (Whipple) shield and greatly reduce the impact risk. In case of ConeXpress with 12 years mission duration the risk of impact related failure of a tank can be reduced from almost 39% for an unprotected tank facing in flight direction to below 0.1% for a tank protected by a properly designed Whipple shield.     

Impact effects from small size meteoroids and space debris

When the impact risk from meteoroids and orbital debris is assessed the main concern is usually structural damage. With their high impact velocities of typically 10–20 km/s millimeter or centimeter sized objects can puncture pressure vessels and other walls or lead to destruction of complete subsystems or even whole spacecraft. Fortunately chances of collisions with such larger objects are small (at least at present). However, particles in the size range 1–100 μm are far more abundant than larger objects and every orbiting spacecraft will encounter them with certainty. Every solar cell (8 cm² area) of the Hubble Space Telescope encountered on average 12 impacts during its 8.25 years of space exposure. Most were from micron sized particles.     

Asteroid interception and disruption for terminal planetary defense

Modern techniques for planetary defense from comets and asteroids involve the deflection of the bolide via kinetic, gravitational, ablative, or radiative means. While potentially effective, none of these methods are capable of operating in a terminal interdiction mode wherethe threat is discovered with little time prior to impact. We present a practical and effective method for planetary defense which enables extremely short interdiction time scales, but can also operate within longer time scales and can be effective for extremely large threats. Called PI (“Pulverize It”), the method makes use of an array of hypervelocity penetrators which uses the kinetic energy of the asteroid or comet to disrupt it. In the terminal interdiction mode, the fragments of maximum $～10$ m diameter disperse laterally as they continue towards the Earth, and then enter the Earth’s atmosphere where they burn up as a series of airburst events which spatially and temporally de-correlate the energy of the original parent bolide for any arbitrary observer on the ground in the form of acoustical shockwaves and optical pulses. We show that terminal interdiction modes ranging from 2 minutes prior to impact for 20-meter class bolides (such as the Chelyabinsk asteroid), 1 day prior to impact for 100 m-class asteroids, 10 days prior to impact for Apophis-class asteroids ($～370$ m), and even 60 days prior to impact for 1 km-class threats are all possible, though longer warning times are always preferred. Using only technologies readily available today, the PI method allows for a cost-effective and practical roadmap towards robust planetary defense capability.