Abstract
Based on the typical Whipple-type shield, a novel shield configuration with a front bumper of TiB2-based composite is designed in this paper, and the hypervelocity impact tests are conducted to compare the protection performance of this new composite bumper with that of the conventional aluminum bumper at the predicted impact velocities of about 3km/s, 5km/s and 7km/s. The protection efficiency of different bumper materials is evaluated by the bumper perforation as well as the damage pattern of the rear wall and the witness plate. The postmortem observations of macroscopic and microscopic damage morphology reveal that the TiB2-based composite bumper can diminish the damage to the rear wall and exhibits better protective performance than the aluminum bumper, especially when the impact velocity reaches 5km/s or more. Analyses of the shadowgraph of debris indicate that the kinetic energy of debris cloud is distributed among a large number of ultrafine particles, therefore, the well-fractured projectile fragment and widespread impact area can be taken as the main reasons for the better performance of TiB2-based composite bumpers. Besides, preliminary researches demonstrate some positive application of this new bumper material in protective systems for micrometeoroid and orbital debris shielding.
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