Research of Performance about Ceramic Coating on Aluminum Bumper to Resist Hypervelocity Impact

Shield structure based on ceramic coating on aluminum bumper was designed, and a series of hypervelocity impact tests were practiced with a two-stage light gas gun facility. Impact velocities were varied between1.5km/s and 5.0km/s. The diameter of projectiles were 3.97mm and 6.35mm respectively. The impact angle was 0 degrees. The damage of the ceramic coating on aluminum bumper under hypervelocity impact was studied. It was found that the ceramic coating on aluminum bumper could help enhancing the protection performance of shield to resist hypervelocity impact. The results indicated when the ceramic coating is on the front side of aluminum bumper, it was good for comminuting projectile and weakening the kinetic energy of projectile. For a certain aluminum bumper, existing a critical thickness of ceramic coating in which capability of Whipple shield to resist hypervelocity impact is the best. On this basis, the proposal of the optimum design for ceramic coating on aluminum bumper was made.