Study of Damage Modes that Cause Titanium Alloy Tanks to Fracture Due to Debris Impact Based on Rupture Limit Equation

Abstract Space debris in Earth orbit is on the rise due to increased space activity. One of the causes of debris generation is the explosion of pressure vessels. For pressure vessel explosions, Schonberg attempted to formulate the conditions for the occurrence of fracture modes involving cracking of the pressure vessel based on the assumption of the flat plate ballistic limit equation, and derived the rupture limit equation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the applicability of rupture limit equation and to determine the effects of tank diameter and internal pressure on debris damage. Hypervelocity impact tests were conducted on titanium alloy flat plates loaded with internal pressure to investigate the effect of pressurization on the ballistic limit. Furthermore, a numerical analysis based on the rupture limit curve was performed to discuss the effects of tank diameter and internal pressure on the damage in the curved plate. From the test and analysis results, it was found that the tank curvature and internal pressure had no effect on the penetration hole diameter during debris impact.