IMPACT DAMAGE CHARACTERIZATION OF CARBON-CARBON SATELLITE MATERIALS

CARBON-CARBON COMPOSITES ARE BEING CONSIDERED AS FUTURE SATELLITE MATERIALS BECAUSE THEY EXHIBIT HIGH STIFFNESS, LOW DENSITY, NEAR ZERO THERMAL EXPANSIONS, AND EXCELLENT THERMAL SHOCK RESISTANCE. THESE SATELLITES MUST BE DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND ATTACKS FROM LASER, NUCLEAR AND KINETIC ENERGY WEAPONS. THE THERMAL SHOCK RESISTANCE OF CARBON-CARBONS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO COMPONENTS THAT CAN SURVIVE LASER AND NUCLEAR ATTACKS. HOWEVER, THE LOW CROSS-PLY TENSION AND SHEAR STRENGTHS OF CARBON-CARBON COMPOSITES IMPLY THAT THEY MAY BE PARTICULARLY SUSCEPTABLE TO IMPACT DAMAGE. THE PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED PROGRAM IS TO PROVIDE A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS OF IMPACT DAMAGE UPON THE STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOR OF CARBON-CARBON SATELLITE MATERIALS. THE PROGRAM INCLUDES ANALYTICAL TASKS TO COMPUTE THE THEORETICAL BEHAVIOR OF PARTICULAR TYPES OF DAMAGE, MANUFACTURING TASKS TO MEASURE THE STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOR OF DAMAGE MATERIAL. THE PROPOSED PROGRAM FOCUSES UPON THE EVALUATION OF THIN-WALLED CYLINDRICAL CARBON-CARBON TUBES WITH HOLES AND DELAMINATIONS TO REPRESENT THE IMPACT DAMAGE.