Acoustic response of aluminium and Duroid plates to hypervelocity impacts

The growing need for real-time impact sensors for deployment on both space vehicles and space habitats (in orbit or on the surface of atmosphere-less bodies such as the Moon) has stimulated sensor development programmes. The sensors should be low mass, low power, easily read-out electronically, cover large areas and be sensitive to impacts which can cause damage up to and including penetration. We propose that piezo-strain acoustic sensors can play an important role in this work. Accordingly we report on a series of hypervelocity impact tests of acoustic sensors mounted on thin plates (aluminium and Duroid plates). The acoustic sensors gave strong signals for impacts of sub mm-mm scale projectiles. We investigated dependences on impactor speed and size, angle of incidence and tested the difference between cratering and penetrating impacts. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.