Potential space debris shield structure using impact-initiated energetic materials composed of polytetrafluoroethylene and aluminum

Qiang Wu; Qingming Zhang; Renrong Long; Kai Zhang; Jun Guo

doi:10.1063/1.4943584

Potential space debris shield structure using impact-initiated energetic materials composed of polytetrafluoroethylene and aluminum

Qiang Wu, Qingming Zhang^*, Renrong Long, Kai Zhang, Jun Guo

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Mechatronical Engineering

Beijing Institute of Technology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A whipple shield using Al/PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) energetic material to protect against space debris is presented. The hypervelocity impact characteristics were investigated experimentally using a two-stage light gas gun at velocities between 3 and 6 km/s. A good protection of the shield was obtained through comparative experiments which used the same bumper areal density. The results showed that the critical projectile diameter can be improved by 28% by contrast with the Christiansen ballistic limit equations. The Al/PTFE energetic material bumper can break up the projectile into smaller, less massive, and slower projectiles due to the combined effect of impact and explosion, thereby producing a sharp rise in the spacecraft protection ability.

Original language	English
Article number	101903
Journal	Applied Physics Letters
Volume	108
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4943584
Publication status	Published - 7 Mar 2016

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Wu, Q., Zhang, Q., Long, R., Zhang, K., & Guo, J. (2016). Potential space debris shield structure using impact-initiated energetic materials composed of polytetrafluoroethylene and aluminum. Applied Physics Letters, 108(10), Article 101903. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4943584

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abstract = "A whipple shield using Al/PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) energetic material to protect against space debris is presented. The hypervelocity impact characteristics were investigated experimentally using a two-stage light gas gun at velocities between 3 and 6 km/s. A good protection of the shield was obtained through comparative experiments which used the same bumper areal density. The results showed that the critical projectile diameter can be improved by 28% by contrast with the Christiansen ballistic limit equations. The Al/PTFE energetic material bumper can break up the projectile into smaller, less massive, and slower projectiles due to the combined effect of impact and explosion, thereby producing a sharp rise in the spacecraft protection ability.",

author = "Qiang Wu and Qingming Zhang and Renrong Long and Kai Zhang and Jun Guo",

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AU - Long, Renrong

AU - Zhang, Kai

AU - Guo, Jun

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N2 - A whipple shield using Al/PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) energetic material to protect against space debris is presented. The hypervelocity impact characteristics were investigated experimentally using a two-stage light gas gun at velocities between 3 and 6 km/s. A good protection of the shield was obtained through comparative experiments which used the same bumper areal density. The results showed that the critical projectile diameter can be improved by 28% by contrast with the Christiansen ballistic limit equations. The Al/PTFE energetic material bumper can break up the projectile into smaller, less massive, and slower projectiles due to the combined effect of impact and explosion, thereby producing a sharp rise in the spacecraft protection ability.

AB - A whipple shield using Al/PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) energetic material to protect against space debris is presented. The hypervelocity impact characteristics were investigated experimentally using a two-stage light gas gun at velocities between 3 and 6 km/s. A good protection of the shield was obtained through comparative experiments which used the same bumper areal density. The results showed that the critical projectile diameter can be improved by 28% by contrast with the Christiansen ballistic limit equations. The Al/PTFE energetic material bumper can break up the projectile into smaller, less massive, and slower projectiles due to the combined effect of impact and explosion, thereby producing a sharp rise in the spacecraft protection ability.

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Potential space debris shield structure using impact-initiated energetic materials composed of polytetrafluoroethylene and aluminum

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