Laser-driven high-velocity microparticle launcher in atmosphere and under vacuum

Abstract This paper presents a novel approach to launch single microparticles at high velocities under low vacuum conditions. In an all-optical table-top method, microparticles with sizes ranging from a few microns to tens of microns are accelerated to supersonic velocities depending on the particle mass. The acceleration is performed through a laser ablation process and the particles are monitored in free space using an ultra-high-speed multi-frame camera with nanosecond time resolution. Under low vacuum, we evaluate the current platform performance by measuring particle velocities for a range of particle types and sizes, and demonstrate blast wave suppression and drag reduction under vacuum. Showing an impact on polyethylene, we demonstrate the capability of the experimental setup to study materials behavior under high-velocity impact. The present method is relevant to space applications, particularly to rendezvous missions where velocities range from tens of m/s to a few km/s, as well as to a wide range of terrestrial applications including impact bonding and impact-induced erosion.

[1]  K. Nelson,et al.  Molecular influence in high-strain-rate microparticle impact response of poly(urethane urea) elastomers , 2017 .

[2]  Hajime Yano,et al.  Data screening and reduction in interplanetary dust measurement by IKAROS-ALADDIN , 2017 .

[3]  K. Nelson,et al.  High strain rate deformation of layered nanocomposites , 2012, Nature Communications.

[4]  C. McKay,et al.  Experimental impact shock chemistry on planetary icy satellites , 2008 .

[5]  M. Horányi,et al.  First results from the Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter on the New Horizons mission , 2010 .

[6]  I. Gouzman,et al.  Debris/Micrometeoroid Impacts and Synergistic Effects on Spacecraft Materials , 2010 .

[7]  Dennis L. Paisley,et al.  Laser-launched flyer plates for shock physics experiments , 2005 .

[8]  E. Thomas,et al.  Dynamic creation and evolution of gradient nanostructure in single-crystal metallic microcubes , 2016, Science.

[9]  Sascha Kempf,et al.  A 2 MV Van de Graaff accelerator as a tool for planetary and impact physics research. , 2011, The Review of scientific instruments.

[10]  H. Schlichting.  Boundary Layer Theory , 1955 .

[11]  K. Nelson,et al.  Dynamics of supersonic microparticle impact on elastomers revealed by real–time multi–frame imaging , 2016, Scientific Reports.

[12]  D. Dlott,et al.  Simplified laser-driven flyer plates for shock compression science. , 2012, The Review of scientific instruments.

[13]  Aleksandar S Mijailovic,et al.  High-velocity micro-particle impact on gelatin and synthetic hydrogel. , 2018, Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials.

[14]  E. B. Mayfield,et al.  Dynamics of a Projectile Penetrating Sand , 1957 .

[15]  M. Wyatt,et al.  Evolution of Debris Disks , 2008 .

[16]  M. Guagliano,et al.  Cold spray coating: review of material systems and future perspectives , 2014 .

[17]  Tetsuo Yasaka,et al.  Development of in-situ micro-debris measurement system , 2011 .

[18]  Sheng-Nian Luo,et al.  Laser-launched flyer plate and confined laser ablation for shock wave loading: validation and applications. , 2008, The Review of scientific instruments.

[19]  T. W. Ipson,et al.  Ballistic Perforation Dynamics , 1963 .

[20]  K. Nelson,et al.  Melting Can Hinder Impact-Induced Adhesion. , 2017, Physical review letters.

[21]  S. P. Gill,et al.  Physics of Shock Waves and High-Temperature Hydrodynamic Phenomena , 2002 .

[22]  Ralph Greif,et al.  Energy deposition and shock wave propagation during pulsed laser ablation in fused silica cavities , 2004 .

[23]  Saša Bajt,et al.  Evidence for interstellar origin of seven dust particles collected by the Stardust spacecraft , 2014, Science.

[24]  K. Nelson,et al.  Melt-driven erosion in microparticle impact , 2018, Nature Communications.

[25]  K. Nelson,et al.  In-situ observations of single micro-particle impact bonding , 2018 .

[26]  Hans-Herbert Fischer,et al.  Dust Impact Monitor (SESAME-DIM) on board Rosetta/Philae: MIllimetric particle flux at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko , 2016, 1605.06291.

[27]  Mark A. F. Kendall,et al.  The delivery of particulate vaccines and drugs to human skin with a practical, hand-held shock tube-based system , 2002 .

[28]  Cristian Porneala,et al.  Time-resolved dynamics of nanosecond laser-induced phase explosion , 2009 .

[29]  K. Nelson,et al.  Molecular influence in the glass/polymer interface design: The role of segmental dynamics , 2018, Polymer.

[30]  F. Postberg,et al.  Flux and composition of interstellar dust at Saturn from Cassini’s Cosmic Dust Analyzer , 2016, Science.