A damage assessment method of solar wings under submillimeter MM/SD impact

Abstract:

To achieve damage assessment of solar arrays with large exposed areas under micro-meteoroid & space debris (MM/SD) impacts, this paper proposed a damage assessment method for solar arrays, focusing on submillimeter MM/SD impacts. This method considered the uncertainty of impacts and the cumulative damage effects. The effectiveness of the solar array impact frequency model was validated through comparison with NASA detection data. The study focused on solar arrays in three orbits with altitudes of 400 km, 800 km, and 35 787 km. First, the flux-size-velocity distributions of MM/SD on spacecraft orbits were determined using the space debris environment engineering model and micrometeoroid models. Then, MM/SD data were generated based on these distributions, and random impact points were selected for simulated impact experiments, achieving visualization of cumulative effects. Next, based on the mechanical damage characteristics and volt-ampere characteristics of the solar array, the impact damage features and power loss were analyzed. Finally, with power loss as a protective indicator, the effect of glass cover thickness on protection performance was studied. The simulation results show that the proposed method can effectively assess impact damage to solar arrays on different orbits, accurately characterize damage features, and reflect the differences in impact damage caused by MM/SD of varying sizes, providing references for on-orbit mission damage assessment and protective structure design for spacecraft.