Development of Orbital Debris Impact Protection Panels

The presence of debris in the orbits used by artificial satellites represents an actual threat for space operations – as such an event is likely to cause the failure of the satellite. Spacecraft hulls are in general built with honeycomb-cored sandwich panels made of Aluminium alloys - which are not effective as a protection in case of medium size debris impact. Using LS-Dyna 970, the benefits (from a mechanical standpoint) coming from the use of materials such as polymeric foams or aramidic fibres in manufacturing hull panels were investigated. Indeed, these materials are frequently used in common applications for their excellent ballistic characteristics and low weight. Initially, a reliable numerical model was developed referring to experimental tests consisting of the impact of medium size debris against sandwich panels with honeycomb core. Hence, using the same impact scenario of the tests, the impact behaviour of different panel typologies obtained using a polymeric foam core or using aramidic fibres as reinforcement was evaluated. As a result, it was possible to highlight the advantages coming from the use of these materials in order to have lightweight and debris-proof structures.