Author(s)

KAYLEIGH MOORE, FILIPE TEIXEIRA-DIAS

Abstract

Protecting low Earth orbit infrastructure from micrometeoroid and orbital debris impacts remains a critical challenge in modern space engineering. Traditional shielding systems often face challenges in balancing weight and impact resistance. This study explores an impedance-graded shielding approach, incorporating sintered silicon carbide (SSiC), aluminium alloy 6082 (AA6082) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) to enhance hypervelocity impact mitigation. The combination of graded mechanical impedance and multiple material failure mechanisms within the system offers significant potential for minimising damage to space structures by enhancing projectile fragmentation and maximising energy dissipation. The smoothed particle hydrodynamics method was implemented to model a 4 mm diameter spherical AISI 304 projectile impacting multiple arrangements of AA6082, SSiC and HDPE at 5 km/s. The resulting debris cloud data was analysed to visually assess the performance of different configurations. The findings demonstrate that the graded structure significantly improves stress wave dispersion and reduces the kinetic energy of the impactor, providing insights for the design of next-generation spacecraft shielding systems.

Keywords

impedance-grading, hypervelocity impact, smoothed particle hydrodynamics, Whipple shield, debris cloud