Micrometeoroid and Debris Impact Test on Space Station Bumper

To design the micrometeoroid and debris protection bumper of the outboard structure space station module, a two-stage helium light gas gun was made and carried out hypervelocity impact tests which simulated micrometeoroid and debris impacts on space station. Fundamental characteristics of hypervelocity impact phenomena were investigated, for a projectile mass 0.45-1.5 g, impact velocity approx 4 km/s and Al alloy 2024 bumpers. When the bumper is of double-sheet type, there exists an optimal front sheet thickness that causes melting of the front sheet. However, for thin front sheets, penetration occurs, and for thick front sheets, spall fracture occurs. In addition to the impact tests, the compositional simulation of the typical test results was carried out using the PISCES code with the Tillotson constitutive equation of Al alloy. The computational simulation results were in good agreement with the test results. Graphs. 8 ref.--AA