Electrostatic Discharge of Plasma Created by Hypervelocity Impact 2A12 Aluminum Targets With Gradient Potential

Based on the objective reality of gradient potential existence in spacecraft surface caused by charging particles in space-plasma environment or solar wind activities, electrostatic discharge of spacecraft with surface charging or deep dielectric charging would be induced by debris or meteoroids impact. To simulate the gradient potential on the spacecraft surface in the laboratory, spacecraft surface was segmented into different parts, which different spacing reserved in two adjacent surfaces was added resistance to create different potential surfaces, and the highest potential surface as a target in the segmented surface. Circuit system realizing different gradient potential, discharge test system, as well as ultrahigh-speed camera acquired system was built by ourselves; combining with two-stage light gas gun loading system, four set experiments have been performed about hypervelocity impact on 2A12 aluminum target with gradient potential. In the experiments, spacings of 2A12 aluminum target were the same among different potential parts in every experiment, and the spacings of four set experiments were 2, 5, 10, and 15 mm, and high-potential 2A12 aluminum as the target, respectively. The experiments were performed at the impact velocity of about 3 km/s and the incidence angles of 60° (between projectile flying trajectory and target plane). Voltage probes and current probes were used to acquire discharge voltages and currents during the process of the impact. The experimental results showed that the discharge induced by impact plasma was generated between high- and low-potential targets by forming a plasma discharge channel, the gaps with 2-15 mm can evoke discharge among different targets, and the variations of the discharge current along the high- and low-potential targets did not obviously. However, the discharge duration decreased with an increasing of distance between high- and low-potential targets at the near collision velocities and the same incidence angle of the projectile. The whole physical process of discharge had experienced four stages in general, which created by hypervelocity impact 2A12 aluminum targets with gradient potential. The first stage was plasma generated by hypervelocity impact, the second stage was complex mixed plasma including plasma generated by hypervelocity impact and discharge plasma induced by split targets with gradient potential, the third stage was discharge plasma induced by hypervelocity impact, and the fourth stage was the discharge between charging particles due to the reciprocating motion of charging particles in the electromagnetic field.