Aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of spacecraft space debris protection, in particular to an aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection. A back plate layer; the core layer is located between the face plate layer and the back plate layer, and the core layer is made of an aluminum matrix ceramic hollow sphere material. When the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure provided by the invention is directly applied to a spacecraft bearing structure, the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure can be prevented from being impacted by aluminum bullets with the diameter of 3mm, the space debris defense capability is high, and when the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure is combined into a typical space debris protection structure, the space debris protection capability is relatively high.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of spacecraft space debris protection, and in particular to an aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection. Background Art

[0002] At present, spacecraft often use aluminum honeycomb sandwich structures for structural bearing and resistance to space debris impact. However, due to the honeycomb pipe structure of the aluminum honeycomb sandwich structure, the tunnel effect generated when space debris hits greatly reduces its ability to resist space debris impact. Therefore, how to reduce the damage of spacecraft to micrometeoroid / space debris impact and improve the ability of spacecraft sandwich structure to resist space debris impact has become a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently by technicians in this field. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present invention provides an aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection, which is used to solve the problem of how to reduce the damage of spacecraft suffered from micrometeoroid / space debris impact and improve the ability of spacecraft sandwich structure to resist space debris impact.

[0004] The present invention provides an aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection, comprising:

[0005] Panel layer;

[0006] Back plate layer;

[0007] The core layer is located between the panel layer and the back panel layer and is a composite material. The composite material includes an aluminum matrix and ceramic hollow balls uniformly distributed on the aluminum matrix.

[0008] In a possible design, the material of the ceramic hollow sphere is SiO2·Al2O3.

[0009] In one possible design, the ceramic hollow sphere has a wall thickness to outer diameter radius ratio of 0.064.

[0010] In one possible design, the particle size of the ceramic hollow spheres is 20 μm.

[0011] In one possible design, the porosity of the aluminum matrix ceramic hollow sphere composite material is 51.7%.

[0012] In one possible design, the aluminum matrix ceramic hollow sphere composite is made by a pressure infiltration process.

[0013] In one possible design, the thickness of the core layer is 5-15 mm.

[0014] In a possible design, the materials of the front panel layer and the back panel layer are both aluminum alloy.

[0015] In a possible design, the thickness of the front panel layer and the back panel layer are both 0.5 mm.

[0016] In a possible design, the face sheet layer is bonded to the core layer, and the back sheet layer is bonded to the core layer.

[0017] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0018] Compared with the prior art that uses an aluminum honeycomb structure as a protective structure for spacecraft, when hit by space debris, the debris hits the honeycomb wall to form a debris cloud. Due to the tunnel effect caused by the honeycomb, a large number of debris cloud particles pass through the honeycomb structure and directly hit the back panel, greatly reducing the protection capability of the structure. The aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection provided by the present invention can defend against the impact of 3mm diameter aluminum ball projectiles when directly applied to the load-bearing structure of the spacecraft. The space debris defense capability is significantly higher than that of the aluminum honeycomb structure in the prior art, mainly because the core layer of the aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure is a foam porous composite material, which does not have the disadvantages of the honeycomb structure, and effectively improves the space debris defense capability. Moreover, when the aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure is combined into a typical space debris protection structure, different back wall spacings are set according to the specific situation, thereby obtaining a higher space debris protection capability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of an aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection according to the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing an aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection arranged at a certain distance outside the aircraft;

[0021] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of an anti-collision layer in an aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection according to the present invention;

[0022] Figure 4 This is a test result diagram of the impact of the aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure in Verification Example 1;

[0023] Figure 5 This is a frontal test result diagram of the impact of the aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure in Verification Example 2;

[0024] Figure 6 This is a back test result diagram of the impact of the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure in Verification Example 2;

[0025] Figure 7 This is a graph showing the core layer test results of the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure impact in Verification Example 3;

[0026] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing the back wall test result of the aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure impacting in Verification Example 3;

[0027] Fig. 9 This is a graph showing the core layer test results of the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure impact in Verification Example 4;

[0028] Fig.10 This is a graph showing the results of the rear wall test of the aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure impacting in Verification Example 4.

[0029] In the attached drawings, 1, panel layer; 2, back panel layer; 3, core layer; 4, spacecraft; 5, anti-collision layer; 51, anti-collision component; 52, fixing plate; 53, cylinder; 54, elastic band; 55, low-density foam material. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0031] As described in the background technology, the aluminum honeycomb sandwich structure has a honeycomb pipe structure, and the tunnel effect generated when space debris hits it greatly reduces its ability to resist space debris impact. Therefore, how to reduce the damage of spacecraft to micrometeoroid / space debris impact and improve the ability of spacecraft sandwich structure to resist space debris impact has become a technical problem that technicians in this field need to solve urgently.

[0032] To solve the above problems, refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 , Fig. 9 and Fig.10 The present invention provides an aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection, comprising: a panel layer 1, a back panel layer 2 and a core layer 3, wherein the core layer 3 is located between the panel layer 1 and the back panel layer 2, that is, the panel layer 1 and the back panel layer 2 are respectively located on the front and rear sides of the core layer 3, and the material of the core layer 3 is an aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere composite material.

[0033] Aluminum matrix ceramic hollow spheres are based on aluminum, with ceramic hollow spheres evenly distributed inside. They have the excellent properties of both aluminum and ceramics: First, low density. Ceramic hollow spheres themselves have a low density. Introducing them into the aluminum matrix can significantly reduce the overall density of the composite material, making it lighter and easier to use in spacecraft as a supporting and protective structure for spacecraft; second, excellent impact resistance. When impacted by external forces, the ceramic hollow spheres can absorb and dissipate part of the energy, while the aluminum matrix can prevent the expansion of cracks, so that the composite material has good impact resistance and can withstand large impact loads without brittle failure.

[0034] Compared with the prior art that uses an aluminum honeycomb structure as a protective structure for spacecraft, when hit by space debris, the debris hits the honeycomb wall to form a debris cloud. Due to the tunnel effect caused by the honeycomb, a large number of debris cloud particles pass through the honeycomb structure and directly hit the back panel, greatly reducing the protection capability of the structure. The aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection provided by the present invention can defend against the impact of 3mm diameter aluminum ball projectiles when directly applied to the load-bearing structure of the spacecraft. The space debris defense capability is significantly higher than that of the aluminum honeycomb structure in the prior art, mainly because the core layer of the aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure is a foam porous composite material, which does not have the disadvantages of the honeycomb structure, and effectively improves the space debris defense capability. Moreover, when the aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure is combined into a typical space debris protection structure, different back wall spacings are set according to the specific situation, thereby obtaining a higher space debris protection capability.

[0035] Preferably, the material of the ceramic hollow sphere is SiO2·Al2O3. SiO2·Al2O3 is a compound composed of silicon oxide (SiO2) and aluminum oxide (Al2O2), and its basic structural units are silicon-oxygen tetrahedron and aluminum-oxygen tetrahedron, which are interconnected by shared oxygen atoms to form various three-dimensional network structures. This structure makes it have excellent stability, and can still maintain high chemical stability and thermal stability when encountering high-speed strong impact, and has a large specific surface area and rich pore structure, which can absorb and store a large amount of impact energy.

[0036] Preferably, the radius ratio of the wall thickness to the outer diameter of the ceramic hollow sphere is 0.064. If the radius ratio of the wall thickness to the outer diameter is too small, the impact resistance of the ceramic hollow sphere will be reduced; if the radius ratio of the wall thickness to the outer diameter is too large, the material density will increase, which is not conducive to the application of spacecraft. Therefore, the radius ratio of the wall thickness to the outer diameter of the ceramic hollow sphere is set to 0.064, so that the ceramic hollow sphere has both high impact resistance and low density.

[0037] Preferably, the particle size of the ceramic hollow sphere is 20 μm. When the wall thickness of the ceramic hollow sphere is consistent with the radius ratio of the outer diameter, the smaller the particle size, the stronger the material's impact resistance; a particle size of 20 μm is currently a more ideal choice.

[0038] Preferably, the porosity of the aluminum matrix ceramic hollow sphere material is 51.7%. The porosity of the material is closely related to the material density, and too small a porosity is not conducive to the application of the material in the aerospace field.

[0039] Preferably, the aluminum matrix ceramic hollow sphere material is made by a pressure infiltration process, which fully utilizes the thin shell support formed by the ceramic hollow sphere. At the same time, the ceramic sphere surface and the aluminum matrix material produce a composite material interface, which greatly improves the impact resistance.

[0040] It should be noted that, while keeping other parameters unchanged, increasing the wall thickness / radius ratio can improve the compressive stress-strain curve of the material and improve the energy absorption capacity of the material, but it will lead to a corresponding decrease in the porosity of the material; reducing the particle size of the ceramic hollow spheres will increase the compressive strength of the hollow spheres themselves, resulting in an improvement in the energy absorption capacity of the material.

[0041] Preferably, the thickness of the core layer 3 is 5 mm, 10 mm or 15 mm.

[0042] Preferably, the materials of the panel layer 1 and the back panel layer 2 are both aluminum alloys. Exemplarily, the materials of the panel layer 1 and the back panel layer 2 are both aluminum alloy 6061.

[0043] Preferably, the thickness of the panel layer 1 and the back panel layer 2 are both 0.5 mm.

[0044] Preferably, the panel layer 1 is bonded to the core layer 3, and the back panel layer 2 is bonded to the core layer 3. Exemplarily, the panel layer 1 is bonded to the core layer 3 by resin glue, and the back panel layer 2 is bonded to the core layer 3 by resin glue.

[0045] Preferably, the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection of the present invention also includes: an anti-collision layer 5, the anti-collision layer 5 includes an anti-collision component 51 and a fixing plate 52 located on both sides of the anti-collision component 51, the anti-collision component 51 includes a cylinder 53 and an elastic band 54 located on the outer periphery of the cylinder 53, the number of cylinders 53 and elastic bands 54 is multiple, distributed in an array, and the accommodating cavity formed between the elastic bands 54 is filled with a low-density foam material 55. On the one hand, the low-density foam material 55 fills the accommodating cavity and can support the overall structure of the cylinder 53 and the elastic band 54; on the other hand, when impacted and impacted by external forces, the internal pores of the low-density foam material 55 are compressed to produce deformation, the density increases, and it surrounds the impact force, which can effectively resist external impact and impact. The cylinder 53 is a rigid material, which can be a ceramic or metal ball, which can improve the overall strength of the anti-collision structure. The elastic band 54 includes a flexible section, a rigid section and a flexible section connected in sequence. The flexible section is connected to the cylinder 53. When impacted, the flexible section can be adaptively adjusted according to the force direction and is wrapped around the outer circumference of the cylinder 53. The rigid section facilitates the tensioning of the elastic band 54 and provides rigid support. Exemplarily, six elastic bands 54 are connected to the outer circumference of each cylinder 53. The low-density foam material 55 is polyurethane foam or polystyrene foam. The polyurethane foam has a low density and a soft texture. When impacted by external force, the pore structure inside it will be compressed, so that the density of the material increases, effectively resisting external impact. The polystyrene foam is light and low in density. After impact, the density will increase significantly, and it has good cushioning performance.

[0046] During specific implementation, the anti-collision layer 5 is embedded between the core layer 3 and the backboard layer 2. When space debris hits the sandwich structure of the present application, the impact force is transmitted to the impact layer through the panel layer 1 and the core layer 3. On the one hand, the low-density foam material 55 is deformed and compressed along the impact direction under the action of the impact force, so that the density of the material near the impact force increases, effectively resisting the impact; on the other hand, under the combined action of the impact force and the compression deformation of the low-density foam material 55, the elastic band 54 is tightly wrapped around the outer circumference of the cylinder 53, the distance between the cylinders 53 becomes shorter, the inertia is enhanced, it is not easy to deform, and it can absorb shock waves.

[0047] It can be seen that by designing the anti-collision layer 5, the overall impact resistance of the sandwich structure is further improved.

[0048] It should be noted that the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure provided by the present invention has two main application modes: one is to directly use it as a load-bearing structure of a spacecraft, that is, to directly use it as an external structure of a spacecraft; the other is to place it outside the structure of a spacecraft and maintain a certain distance to form a typical space debris protection structure, such as Figure 2 As shown, the distance between the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure and the spacecraft 4 is 30 mm to 100 mm.

[0049] Example 1

[0050] An aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection is prepared, comprising: a panel layer 1, a back plate layer 2 and a core layer 3, wherein the panel layer 1 and the back plate layer 2 are respectively located at the front side and the rear side of the core layer 3, the material of the core layer 3 is an aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere composite material SiO2·Al2O3, the wall thickness to outer diameter radius ratio of the ceramic hollow sphere is 0.064, the particle size is 20 μm, the porosity of the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere composite material is 51.7%, the core layer 3 is 13 mm thick, and the panel layer 1 and the back plate layer 2 are both made of Al 6061 with a thickness of 0.5 mm.

[0051] Verification Example 1

[0052] The test conditions include: simulating the impact effect of space debris through a hypervelocity impact ground test to verify the ability of the aluminum-ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure to resist the impact of space debris. The verification test was carried out on the two-stage light gas gun equipment of the Beijing Satellite Environment Engineering Research Institute. The two-stage light gas gun equipment uses hydrogen and oxygen gas reaction to generate the first-stage drive, and the hydrogen in the compressed pump tube is used as the second-stage drive to make the projectile in the launch tube reach a hypervelocity state. The projectile impact speed is measured by a high-speed camera, and the impact process of the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure is recorded.

[0053] A verification test was conducted on the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure of Example 1, using an aluminum sphere projectile with a diameter of 3.0 mm, an impact velocity of 3.16 km / s, and an impact angle of 0°.

[0054] The collision results are as follows Figure 4 As shown, the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure of Example 1 did not penetrate, and an impact crater was produced in the core layer with a diameter of 5.81 mm and a depth of 7.84 mm. There were small cracks on the back of the core layer material, and no obvious damage occurred to the back plate layer.

[0055] Verification Example 2

[0056] A verification test was carried out on the aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich panel of Example 1. The test conditions were the same as those of Verification Example 1. The test parameters were different from those of Verification Example 1 in that: the test used an aluminum ball projectile with a diameter of 3.0 mm, an impact speed of 6.95 km / s, and an impact angle of 0°.

[0057] The front of the aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure after impact Figure 5 As shown, the back side Figure 6 As shown, it can be seen that the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure has not been penetrated, but is close to the critical state. The core layer has not been penetrated, the impact crater diameter is 8.64mm, the impact crater depth is 10.72mm, there is a bulge on the back and layer cracking occurs; the back plate layer has not been penetrated, but there is a bulge.

[0058] Verification Example 3

[0059] The test conditions include: the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich plate of Example 1 is arranged in parallel outside the structure of the spacecraft 4, and a certain distance is maintained to form a typical space debris protection structure. In the specific implementation, a back wall is used to simulate the spacecraft 4, the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure is arranged in parallel with the back wall, the distance is 30mm, and the back wall material is Al 6061, with a thickness of 1mm.

[0060] The aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich panels of Example 1 were assembled into a typical space debris protection structure, and an experiment was conducted. The experiment used aluminum sphere projectiles with a diameter of 4.5 mm, an impact speed of 3.49 km / s, and an impact angle of 0°.

[0061] The core layer of the aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure after impact Figure 7 As shown, the rear wall Figure 8 As shown, it can be seen that the aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure is penetrated, and the perforation diameter is 8.13mm. The back wall is not penetrated, no cracks appear, and there is a bulge on the back of the back wall.

[0062] Verification Example 4

[0063] The aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich panels of Example 1 were assembled into a typical space debris protection structure, and the test conditions were the same as those of Verification Example 3. The test parameters were different from those of Verification Example 3 in that: the test used aluminum sphere projectiles with a diameter of 4.0 mm, an impact velocity of 6.84 km / s, and an impact angle of 0°.

[0064] The core layer of the aluminum-based ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure after impact Fig. 9 As shown, the rear wall Fig.10 As shown, it can be seen that the base aluminum ceramic hollow ball sandwich structure is penetrated, and the perforation diameter is 12.96mm; the back wall is not penetrated, no cracks appear, and there is a bulge on the back of the back wall.

[0065] The results of verification examples 1-4 show that the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure directly serves as the load-bearing structure of the spacecraft, and can withstand the hypervelocity impact of 3mm aluminum ball projectiles at impact velocities of 3.16km / s and 6.95km / s, and can effectively protect against space debris with a diameter of 3mm; when the aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure is combined into a typical space debris protection structure, it can withstand the hypervelocity impact of 4.5mm diameter aluminum ball projectiles at an impact velocity of 3.49km / s and 4.0mm diameter aluminum ball projectiles at an impact velocity of 6.84km / s, and can effectively protect against space debris with a diameter of 4mm.

[0066] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0067] In the description of the present invention, “plurality” means at least two, for example, two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0068] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral one; it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or communication with each other; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0069] In the present invention, the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "examples", "specific examples" or "some examples" etc. mean that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of the different embodiments or examples, unless they are contradictory.

[0070] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it is to be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and are not to be construed as limitations of the present invention. A person skilled in the art may change, modify, replace and vary the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection, characterized in that: include: Panel layer; Back plate layer; The core layer is located between the panel layer and the back panel layer and is a composite material. The composite material includes an aluminum matrix and ceramic hollow balls uniformly distributed on the aluminum matrix.

2. The aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The material of the ceramic hollow sphere is SiO2·Al2O3.

3. The aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The radius ratio of the wall thickness to the outer diameter of the ceramic hollow sphere is 0.

064.

4. The aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The particle size of the ceramic hollow sphere is 20 μm.

5. The aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection according to claim 1, characterized in that: The porosity of the aluminum matrix ceramic hollow sphere composite material is 51.7%.

6. The aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The aluminum matrix ceramic hollow ball composite material is manufactured by a pressure infiltration process.

7. The aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The thickness of the core layer is 5-15 mm.

8. The aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The materials of the panel layer and the back panel layer are both aluminum alloy.

9. The aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The thickness of the panel layer and the back panel layer are both 0.5 mm.

10. The aluminum-based ceramic hollow sphere sandwich structure for spacecraft space debris protection according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The panel layer is bonded to the core layer, and the back panel layer is bonded to the core layer.

Images