Evaluating UHMWPE-stuffed aluminium foam sandwich panels for protecting spacecraft against micrometeoroid and orbital debris impact

Robotic spacecraft shielding for protection against micrometeoroid impact is typically provided by existing structural panels, thermal insulation blankets, or reinforced component containers. Here the performance of an open cell aluminium foam core sandwich panel with intermediate ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) stuffing under hypervelocity impact of spherical aluminium projectiles was evaluated. Providing comparable structural and thermal performance as honeycomb sandwich panels, foam core sandwich panels have demonstrated improved impact shielding behaviour in existing studies. The inclusion of UHMWPE stuffing is found, through experimental testing and a comprehensive numerical study, to increase the shielding capability of foam core sandwich panels (40–80% increase in critical projectile diameter) for a modest weight penalty (25%). Compared to conventional aluminium honeycomb sandwich panels with equivalent weight, the improvement in shielding performance is >100%.