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BURST PRESSURE FAILURE OF TITANIUM TANKS DAMAGED BY SECONDARY PLUMES FROM HYPERVELOCITY IMPACTS ON ALUMINUM SHIELDS.
- Source :
-
AIP Conference Proceedings . 2012, Vol. 1426 Issue 1, p100-103. 4p. 2 Color Photographs, 1 Diagram, 4 Graphs. - Publication Year :
- 2012
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Abstract
- Metallic pressure tanks used in space missions are inherently vulnerable to hypervelocity impacts from micrometeoroids and orbital debris; thereby knowledge of impact damage and its effect on the tank integrity is crucial to a spacecraft risk assessment. This paper describes tests that have been performed to assess the effects of hypervelocity impact (HVI) damage on Titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) pressure vessels burst pressure and characteristics. The tests consisted of a pair of HVI impact tests on water-filled Ti-6Al-4V tanks (water being used as a surrogate to the actual propellant) and subsequent burst tests as well as a burst test on an undamaged control tank. The tanks were placed behind Aluminum (Al) shields and then each was impacted with a 7 km/s projectile. The resulting impact debris plumes partially penetrated the Ti-6Al-4V tank surfaces resulting in a distribution of craters. During the burst tests, the tank that failed at a lower burst pressure did appear to have the failure initiating at a crater site with observed spall cracks. A fracture mechanics analysis showed that the tanks failure at the impact location may have been due to a spall crack that formed upon impact of a fragmentation on the Titanium surface. This result was corroborated with a finite element analysis from calculated Von-Mises and hoop stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0094243X
- Volume :
- 1426
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- AIP Conference Proceedings
- Publication Type :
- Conference
- Accession number :
- 100955183
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3686231