Experimental investigation of protection performance about aluminum mesh bumper by high-velocity normal impact

The high-velocity normal impacts of space debris on bumper of spacecrafts were studied through a two-stage light gas gun launching 2017-T4 aluminum spheres to impact on 5052 aluminum mesh shield structure. The resist capability of aluminum mesh shield against high-velocity impact was discussed. For the same areal density, the size effect and arrangement effect on the protection performance of the filled layer were analyzed. Impact velocities of Al-spheres were varied between 2.90 and 4.95 km/s in this study. The diameters of projectiles were 3.97 and 6.35 mm respectively. The impact angle was 0°. The results indicated that the primary capability of the 2A12 aluminum plate comminuting projectile is better than that of 5052 aluminum mesh when the areal density is constant, but as the filled medium, the 5052 aluminum mesh layer provides better protection for the rear wall than 2A12 aluminum plate. In a certain wire diameter range, the 5052 aluminum mesh with smaller wire diameter has better protection performance. Al mesh-Al plate filled layer can break up the projectile to a more uniform size than Al plate-Al mesh filled layer.