Projectile Shape Effects in Hypervelocity Impact of Honeycomb-Core Sandwich Structures
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 35, Issue 1
Abstract
Honeycomb-core sandwich structures are commonly utilized as orbital debris shielding in unmanned satellites. This study investigated the effects of projectile shape on the ballistic performance of aluminum honeycomb-core sandwich panels subjected to (hypervelocity) impacts at normal incidence. The shape of the reference projectile was a sphere, and other projectiles had a disk topology, including simple disks and disks with a central hole (ring projectiles), with different aspect ratios. To facilitate the investigation, a numerical simulation model was developed and verified against experimental data and predictions from an empirical ballistic limit equation. The verified model was then used to investigate hypervelocity impact scenarios involving different projectile shapes, honeycomb grades with different cell sizes, and different projectile/honeycomb cell alignments. It was found that of the shapes considered here, ring projectiles were of the highest concern: the volume of a ring projectile that could be resisted by a honeycomb-core sandwich panel without perforation of the rear facesheet was 1.65 times lower than that of a spherical projectile. In contrast, simulations with simple disks (without a central hole) did not show any significant change in the ballistic performance of the panel compared to impacts with a spherical projectile. Additional simulations conducted with ring projectiles demonstrated the strong influence of honeycomb cell size and projectile/honeycomb cell alignment on damage to the rear facesheet of the panel.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada through Discovery Grant No. RGPIN-2019-03922. The author would like to thank NASA and NASA Media Liaison Mr. Bert Ulrich for permission to reproduce experimental images from the NASA/TM–2015–218593 report in this paper.
References
Adams, D. O., N. J. Webb, C. B. Yarger, A. Hunter, and K. D. Oborn. 2007. Multi-functional sandwich composites for spacecraft applications: An initial assessment.. Houston: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Bylander, L. A., O. H. Carlström, T. S. R. Christenson, and F. G. Olsson. 2002. “A modular design concept for small satellites.” In Vol. 6 of Smaller satellites: Bigger business?, edited by M. Rycroft and N. Crosby. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3008-2_44.
Cherniaev, A., and I. Telichev. 2016. “Weight-efficiency of conventional shielding systems in protecting unmanned spacecraft from orbital debris.” J. Spacecr. Rockets 54 (1): 75–89. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.A33596.
Chhabildas, L. C., E. S. Hertel, and S. A. Hill. 1993. “Hypervelocity impact tests and simulations of single Whipple bumper shield concepts at 10 km/s.” Int. J. Impact Eng. 14 (1–4): 133–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/0734-743X(93)90015-Y.
Christiansen, E. L. 1993. “Design and performance equations for advanced meteoroid and debris shields.” Int. J. Impact Eng. 14 (1–4): 145–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/0734-743X(93)90016-Z.
Christiansen, E. L. 2003. Meteoroid/debris shielding. Houston: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Christiansen, E. L. 2009. Handbook for designing MMOD protection: NASA JSC-64399. Houston: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Christiansen, E. L., J. L. Crews, J. E. Williamsen, J. H. Robinson, and A. M. Nolen. 1995. “Enhanced meteoroid and orbital debris shielding.” Int. J. Impact Eng. 17 (1–3): 217–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/0734-743X(95)99848-L.
Cour-Palais, B. G. 2001. “The shape effect of non-spherical projectiles in hypervelocity impacts.” Int. J. Impact Eng. 26 (1–10): 129–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0734-743X(01)00075-6.
Destefanis, R., M. Faraud, and M. Trucchi. 1999. “Columbus debris shielding experiments and ballistic limit curves.” Int. J. Impact Eng. 23 (1): 181–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0734-743X(99)00071-8.
Destefanis, R., F. Schäfer, M. Lambert, M. Faraud, and E. Schneider. 2003. “Enhanced space debris shields for manned spacecraft.” Int. J. Impact Eng. 29 (1–10): 215–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2003.09.019.
Frost, C., and P. Rodriguez. 1997. “AXAF hypervelocity impact test results.” In Proc., 2nd European Conf. on Space Debris, 423. Darmstadt, Germany: ESOC.
GMX-6 Database. 1969. Selected hugoniots.. New Mexico: Los Alamos National Laboratories.
Hexcel Corporation. 2021. “HexWeb® CR III: Corrosion resistant specification grade aluminum honeycomb.” Hexcel Product Data Sheet. Accessed July 23, 2021. https://www.hexcel.com/user_area/content_media/raw/HexWeb_CRIII_DataSheet.pdf.
Hu, K., and W. P. Schonberg. 2002. “Ballistic limit curves for cylindrical projectiles impacting dual-wall spacecraft systems.” Struct. Mater. 11: 101–109. https://doi.org/10.2495/SU020101.
Iliescu, L. E., A. A. Lakis, and A. Oulmane. 2016. “Satellites-spacecraft materials and hypervelocity impact (HVI) testing: Numerical simulations.” Eur. J. Mech. Eng. Res. 3 (3): 41–77.
Jolly, W., and W. P. Schonberg. 1997. “Analytical prediction of hole diameter in thin plates due to hypervelocity impact of spherical projectiles.” Shock Vib. 4 (5–6): 379–390. https://doi.org/10.1155/1997/234341.
Kang, P., S. K. Youn, and J. H. Lim. 2013. “Modification of the critical projectile diameter of honeycomb sandwich panel considering the channeling effect in hypervelocity impact.” Aerosp. Sci. Technol. 29 (1): 413–425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2013.04.011.
Kay, G. 2003. Failure modeling of titanium 6Al-4V and aluminum 2024-T3 with the Johnson-Cook material model. Livermore, CA: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Lathrop, B., and R. Sennett. 1968. “The effects of hypervelocity impact on honeycomb structures.” In Proc., 9th Structural Dynamics and Materials Conf. Reston, VA: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Legaud, T., M. Le Garrec, N. Van Dorsselaer, and V. Lapoujadet. 2019. “Improvement of satellites shielding under high velocity impact using advanced SPH method.” In Proc., 12th European LS-DYNA Conf. Stuttgart, Germany: DYNAmore GmbH.
Lesuer, D. R., G. J. Kay, and M. M. LeBlanc. 1999. “Modeling large-strain, high-rate deformation in metals.” In Proc., 3rd Biennial Tri-Laboratory Engineering Conf. on Modeling and Simulation. Washington, DC: US Dept. of Energy.
LSTC (Livermore Software Technology Corporation). 2013a. LS-DYNA, Keyword user’s manual. Volume I. Livermore, CA: LSTC.
LSTC (Livermore Software Technology Corporation). 2013b. LS-DYNA, Keyword user’s manual. Volume II: Material models. Livermore, CA: LSTC.
Meyers, M. A. 1994. Dynamic behavior of materials. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Miller, J. E. 2019. “Considerations of oblique impacts of non-spherical, graphite-epoxy projectiles.” In Proc., 1st Int. Orbital Debris Conf. Houston: Lunar and Planetary Institute.
National Research Council. 1997. “Protecting the space station from meteoroids and orbital debris. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/5532.
Pelton, J. 2013. Space debris and other threats from outer space. New York: Springer.
Ryan, S., and E. Christiansen. 2010. Micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) shield ballistic limit analysis Program.. Houston: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Ryan, S., and E. Christiansen. 2015. Hypervelocity impact testing of aluminum foam core sandwich panels.. Houston: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Ryan, S., F. Schaefer, R. Destefanis, and M. Lambert. 2008. “A ballistic limit equation for hypervelocity impacts on composite honeycomb sandwich panel satellite structures.” Adv. Space Res. 41 (7): 1152–1166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2007.02.032.
Schaefer, F. K., E. Schneider, and M. Lambert. 2004. “Review of ballistic limit equations for composite structure walls of satellites.” In Proc., 5th Int. Symp. on Environmental Testing for Space Programmes, 431–444. Paris: European Space Agency.
Schonberg, W. P., and J. E. Williamsen. 2006. “RCS-based ballistic limit curves for non-spherical projectiles impacting dual-wall spacecraft systems.” Int. J. Impact Eng. 33 (1–12): 763–770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2006.09.076.
Schubert, M., S. Perfetto, A. Dafnis, D. Mayer, H. Atzrodt, and K. U. Schroder. 2017. Multifunctional load carrying lightweight structures for space design, 1–11. Darmstadt, Germany: RWTH Aachen Univ.
Steinberg, D. 1996. Equations of state and strength properties of selected materials. Livermore, CA: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Taylor, E. A., M. K. Herbert, B. A. M. Vaughan, and J. A. M. McDonnell. 1999. “Hypervelocity impact on carbon fibre reinforced plastic/aluminium honeycomb: Comparison with Whipple bumper shields.” Int. J. Impact Eng. 23 (1): 883–893. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0734-743X(99)00132-3.
Whipple, F. L. 1947. “Meteorites and space travel.” Astron. J. 52 (1161): 131. https://doi.org/10.1086/106009.
Yasuhiro, A., R. Nakamura, and M. Tanaka. 2001. “Development of bumper shield using low density materials.” Int. J. Impact Eng. 26 (1–10): 13–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0734-743X(01)00069-0.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 35 • Issue 1 • January 2022
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 1, 2021
Accepted: Aug 11, 2021
Published online: Sep 24, 2021
Published in print: Jan 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Feb 24, 2022
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
Cited by
- Chao Zhang, Guoxing Lu, Tao Suo, Impact Dynamics for Advanced Aerospace Materials and Structures, Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 10.1061/JAEEEZ.ASENG-5047, 36, 4, (2023).
- Kayleigh Fowler, Filipe Teixeira-Dias, Hybrid Shielding for Hypervelocity Impact of Orbital Debris on Unmanned Spacecraft, Applied Sciences, 10.3390/app12147071, 12, 14, (7071), (2022).
- Riley Carriere, Aleksandr Cherniaev, Honeycomb Parameter-Sensitive Predictive Models for Ballistic Limit of Spacecraft Sandwich Panels Subjected to Hypervelocity Impact at Normal Incidence, Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 10.1061/(ASCE)AS.1943-5525.0001436, 35, 4, (2022).