Damage characteristics of aluminum matrix hollow ceramic sphere composite plate under hypervelocity impact

With the rapid advancement of the aerospace industry, the amount of orbital space debris has increased dramatically, resulting in an increasingly severe environment for spacecraft operations. The development of lightweight, high-strength advanced protective materials has thus become a critical focus in spacecraft shielding technology. Aluminum matrix hollow ceramic sphere composite (AMHCSC) material, owing to its superior properties such as high hardness, high strength, excellent thermal resistance, and low density, exhibits significant potential for applications in the aerospace industry. A numerical simulation study was conducted on the hypervelocity impact of aluminum alloy spherical projectiles on AMHCSC plate to explore the damage characteristics, stress wave propagation laws and ballistic deflection phenomena of this material under different impact conditions. A mesoscale model was developed using MATLAB and integrated with the FE-SPH (Finite Element-Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics) adaptive method to simulate key dynamic processes, including hollow ceramic sphere fracture, energy dissipation, and debris cloud evolution during impact. The results demonstrate that AMHCSC plate effectively absorbs impact energy through ceramic fragmentation and the formation of internal cavities, thereby substantially enhancing its shielding effectiveness. Furthermore, the incorporation of ceramic phases induces a domino effect and alters the trajectory of the debris cloud during impact, thereby enhancing the protective performance of the plate. This study provides valuable insights for the design of space debris shielding structures. • A mesoscopic model for hypervelocity impact of aluminum matrix hollow ceramic sphere composite plate was established and validated. • Hollow ceramic spheres induce projectile deviation, increasing contact area and enhancing target plate protection. • Trajectory deflection amplitude increases with impact velocity, and the deflection direction exhibits sensitivity to the spatial distribution of ceramic spheres.