Experimental and numerical study of hypervelocity impact damage on composite overwrapped pressure vessels

Abstract

Ground-based tests are important for studying hypervelocity impact (HVI) damage to spacecraft pressure vessels in the orbital debris environment. We analyzed the damage to composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) in the HVI tests and classified the damage into non-catastrophic damage and catastrophic damage. We proposed a numerical simulation method to further study non-catastrophic damage and revealed the characteristics and mechanisms of non-catastrophic damage affected by impact conditions and internal pressures. The fragments of the catastrophically damaged COPVs were collected after the tests. The crack distribution and propagation process of the catastrophic ruptures of the COPVs were analyzed. Our findings contribute to understanding the damage characteristics and mechanisms of COPVs by HVIs.

Keywords

• Orbital debris
• Hypervelocity impact
• Composite overwrapped pressure vessels
• Damage mechanisms