Experimental investigation on aluminum bumper with ceramic surface coating impacted by an aluminum sphere

The ceramic coating shields with single bumper and dual-wall bumper were designed taking advantage of the improvement on Al-Whipple shield. A series of high-velocity impact tests were practiced with a two-stage light gas gun facility. The diameters of projectiles used to simulate the space debris were 3.97 mm and 6.35 mm respectively. The impact velocities of Al-sphere were varied between 1.64 km/s and 4.96 km/s. The effects of ceramic coating on the damage and protection performance of shield were analyzed. The results indicate that the ceramic coating on the surface of bumper broadens the impact velocity spectrum, so that the single-wall bumper shield can withstand higher velocity impact. The Al-mesh stuffed shield with the ceramic coating surface used as a first layer of bumper can help the primary fragment of projectile and the subsequent absorption of kinetic energy of debris cloud.