NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Penetration experiments in aluminum and Teflon targets of widely variable thicknessThe morphologies and detailed dimensions of hypervelocity craters and penetration holes on space-exposed surfaces faithfully reflect the initial impact conditions. However, current understanding of this postmortem evidence and its relation to such first-order parameters as impact velocity or projectile size and mass is incomplete. While considerable progress is being made in the numerical simulation of impact events, continued impact simulations in the laboratory are needed to obtain empirical constraints and insights. This contribution summarizes such experiments with Al and Teflon targets that were carried out in order to provide a better understanding of the crater and penetration holes reported from the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) and the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) satellites. A 5-mm light gas gun was used to fire spherical soda-lime glass projectiles from 50 to 3175 microns in diameter (D(sub P)), at a nominal 6 km/s, into Al (1100 series; annealed) and Teflon (Teflon(sup TFE)) targets. Targets ranged in thickness (T) from infinite halfspace targets (T approx. equals cm) to ultrathin foils (T approx. equals micron), yielding up to 3 degrees of magnitude variation in absolute and relative (D(sub P)/T) target thickness. This experimental matrix simulates the wide range in D(sub P)/T experienced by a space-exposed membrane of constant T that is being impacted by projectiles of widely varying sizes.
Document ID
19950012770
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Hoerz, F.
(NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Cintala, Mark J.
(NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Bernhard, R. P.
(Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Co. Houston, TX., United States)
See, T. H.
(Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Co. Houston, TX., United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Inst., Workshop on Particle Capture, Recovery and Velocity(Trajectory Measurement Technologies
Subject Category
Structural Mechanics
Accession Number
95N19185
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available