Numerical study on separation shock characteristics of pyrotechnic separation nuts

This paper establishes a finite element model of pyrotechnic separation nuts and simulates the whole separation process based on the explicit dynamic codes LS-dyna with Arbitrary Lagrange-Euler (ALE) algorithm. The separation shock generated in the unlocking process is analyzed in detail and the results reveal that the pyrotechnic explosion shock and strain energy shock are two sources for the whole separation shock. Besides that, the influence of prestress on the separation shock and its two shock sources is also researched. The results show that the prestress could strengthen all three shocks, especially the strain energy release shock. This paper also compares the shock response spectrum (SRS) of the three shocks and finds that the SRS of separation shock is equal to the envelope of the SRS of pyrotechnic explosion shock and strain energy release shock. In the model of this paper, the pyrotechnic explosion shock plays a dominant role in the frequency range of 100 Hz to 10 KHz. The conclusions got in this work are helpful to insight the mechanism of separation shock and can provide a reference for the design of separation nuts.