Numerical Simulation Investigation in Hypervelocity Impact on Shield Structure Containing Aluminum Foam

Aluminum foam is a new type of material for shield of spacecrafts which bears fine characteristics when subjected to hypervelocity impact of space debris. A microstructure model of geometry for metallic foams was developed to simulate their manufacturing process. Numerical simulations on hypervelocity impact were carried out using self-programmed Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics, and the proposed model is validated by comparison with experimental results. Two Al-foam-containing shield structures against space debris were presented including Al-foam stuffed shield and Al-foam sandwiched shield. Ballistic limit curves of both shields were obtained respectively through numerical simulations. Analyses results indicate that the shield performance of Al-foam stuffed shield is better than that of Al-foam sandwiched shield for the majority of impact speed range referring to shield against space debris.