Dynamic Behavior of Kinetic Projectile Impact on Honeycomb Sandwich Panels and Multi-Layer Plates

Abstract

In order to study the dynamic response associated with the impact of a kinetic projectile on the internal structure of an artificial satellite, we propose a kinetic projectile configuration with non-metallic material wrapping and multiple damage elements. The artificial satellite is simplified as a honeycomb sandwich panel and multi-layer plates. We carried out a ground damage test and finite element dynamic simulation, and we determined the lateral effect and penetration performance of the projectile. Then, we studied the dynamic behavior of the projectile penetrating the honeycomb sandwich panel using a theoretical model. We found that its ballistic limit velocity was 150 m/s, and the deformation of the opening had little relationship with the projectile velocity. Finally, we studied the dynamic response of the kinetic projectile impacting the multi-layer plates under various launch parameters. We found that the launch velocity required to meet the damage requirements was within 325 ± 25 m/s. Projectiles with a higher initial velocity had a stronger ability to penetrate the plates, but initial velocities higher than 325 m/s led to a reduced damage area. The kinetic projectile could adapt to incident angles less than 5° when damaging the plates. With the increasing incident angle, the penetration ability was reduced, and the damage area increased.