An excitation function for hypervelocity impact-induced wave propagation in satellite structures

An empirical excitation function which defines the elastic excitation of a satellite wall-representative Aluminum plate from impact of a projectile at hypervelocity is derived empirically from experimentally validated hydrocode simulations. The resulting function is intended for application in a structural finite element model code to assess the perturbation effects of small micrometeoroid and space debris impacts on highly stiffened satellite structures. This will enable the risk that these impacts pose on a future generation of ESA scientific satellite missions employing ultra-sensitive equipment to be quantified. The excitation function has been empirically derived from simulated velocity measurements made at various offsets from the impact location. The measured velocity waveforms have been simplified in terms of its frequency content in mind of its end-point application in structural codes, and this simplified velocity waveform has been extrapolated to the impact o rigin. The resulting empirical function is polynomial-exponential decay in form, and defines a point-source velocity-time input for structural codes.