Experimental Research on Performance of Al-Foam Stuffed Whipple Shield against Hypervelocity Impact

Al-foam is a promising shielding material in the structural design of manned spacecrafts and satellites in the future. An Al-foam Stuffed Whipple Shield was presented under the concept of light-weight shield structure. Three different configurations were proposed with nearly the same total bumper areal density. Three porosities of Al-foam plate were adopted for each configuration with varying thicknesses to keep the same areal density. Hypervelocity impact tests were performed using two-stage light gas gun at 2km/s and 4km/s. The Al-foam Stuffed Whipple Shields have better performances than the equivalent Aluminum Plate Stuffed Whipple Shield and the Whipple Shield at the velocities tested. And Al-foam of higher porosity stuffed can provide better shield performance for the same configuration at a less significant level.