Investigation of the interaction of space debris particles with structural elements of a spacecraft

DOI: 10.34759/trd-2021-119-02

Аuthors

Ekimenko A. A., Mikhailov D. Y.^*

Mlitary spaсe Aсademy named after A.F. Mozhaisky, Saint Petersburg, Russia

*e-mail: mdyu@mail.ru

Abstract

During operation, spacecraft are constantly exposed to external factors that lead to degradation of the structure and external elements. As a result, such an impact leads to changes in the optical properties of materials, changes in the physical and mechanical properties of structural materials, the formation of craters and through breakdown of the walls, as a result of which the operation of both individual onboard systems and the spacecraft as a whole is disrupted, which is a very urgent task.

One of the influencing factors on the spacecraft is the flow of cosmic dust particles and the pollution of outer space by space debris particles, which have different velocities. The size range of space debris and dust particles varies from a few micrometers to tens of meters. Solid particles with a size of less than 1 mm are considered as a constant influencing factor, characterized by the density of their flow. Also, an equally important parameter of space debris is the shape of the particles.

The article presents the results of a study of the impact of particles on the design of the spacecraft. The process of crater formation with equivalent stresses at velocities of 1, 1.5, and 2 km/s is considered. Graphs of the total stresses over the thickness of the barrier and the change in the depth of the craters over time are presented.

In this paper, as an object of research as an element of the spacecraft, the result of the interaction of a two-layer coating on impact with a particle of space debris, the size of which is much smaller than the thickness of the coating, is considered. The coating in the form of two plates made of a composite protective shield and an aluminum plate, are shown in Figure 1.

The results of the numerical simulation are shown in Figure 3.The results of the evolution and the formation of craters at different points in time are shown. As a result of the collision of the particle with a softer barrier, the polymer coating substance is carried away. At the same time, a crater is formed on the aluminum barrier with an increase in diameter at particle velocities of 1.5 km/s and 2 km/s.

Based on the results of numerical experiments, the impact effects of a steel particle on an aluminum barrier with a polymer coating are analyzed. Taking into account a comprehensive study covering the physical and mechanical, mathematical features of modeling a high-speed impact, a large amount of information about the interaction of a particle with an obstacle at different speeds of movement was obtained.

The polymer coating is destroyed in all the studied variants, taking part of the kinetic energy of the particle. With an increase in the speed of movement, the amount of material entrainment and the diameter of the coating detachment from the aluminum barrier increases.

After the destruction of the polymer coating, the particle hits the aluminum barrier. As the speed increases, the crater depth and stresses in the aluminum barrier also increase. The rate of increase in the depth of the crater is also proportional to the speed of movement of the particle.

In all variants of the numerical experiment, the steel particle undergoes significant deformations, but significant mass entrainment occurs only at a speed of 2 km/s.

The results of crater formation and stress in the barrier at different particle velocities of less than 1 mm in size allow us to create a foundation for further experimental studies to take into account the impact of particles on the spacecraft design elements.

Keywords:

space debris, high-speed impact, crater, spacecraft

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