Prediction of micrometeoroid damage to lunar construction materials using numerical modeling of hypervelocity impact events
| Autor: | David J. Loftus, J.E. Miller, Maria I. Allende, Michael D. Lepech, Eric L. Christiansen, B. Alan Davis |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
business.industry
Micrometeoroid Mechanical Engineering Extrapolation Numerical modeling Aerospace Engineering In situ resource utilization 020101 civil engineering Ocean Engineering Material Design 02 engineering and technology Regolith 0201 civil engineering 020303 mechanical engineering & transports Impact crater 0203 mechanical engineering Mechanics of Materials Automotive Engineering Hypervelocity Environmental science Aerospace engineering business Safety Risk Reliability and Quality Civil and Structural Engineering |
| Zdroj: | International Journal of Impact Engineering. 138:103499 |
| ISSN: | 0734-743X |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2020.103499 |
| Popis: | The use of Lunar regolith for the creation of construction materials to build habitats and other infrastructure required for a Lunar base is an example of in situ resource utilization (ISRU), an important strategy for minimizing the launch mass associated with a NASA mission to the Moon. One class of solidified regolith, Biopolymer-bound Soil Composites (BSC), consists of regolith mixed with a small amount of biopolymer binding agent (10% w/w). This paper characterizes BSC's micrometeoroid impact performance using experimental and numerical methods. Micrometeoroids are a notable hazard of the Lunar environment and pose a challenging design consideration. A total of 17 hypervelocity impact experiments were conducted on BSC targets at NASA's White Sands Testing Facility. Numerical simulations of the hypervelocity impact experiments were carried out using CTH, a shock physics code developed by Sandia National Laboratories. Comparisons between the experimental craters and the simulation results indicate that there is good agreement between crater dimensions of the hypervelocity impact experiments and the CTH model. The CTH model developed in this paper provides (1) a damage prediction tool that allows for the necessary extrapolation of micrometeoroid impact velocities beyond what is experimentally achievable and into the velocity regime that is relevant for micrometeoroids and (2) a material design tool that is capable of varying material parameters computationally, ultimately allowing for the engineering and optimization of BSC's performance under impact loading. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|
Full Text from ScienceDirect