Development of Impact Test Device for Pyroshock Simulation Using Impact Analysis

Abstract

Pyrotechnic-separation devices are widely used in the separation mission of satellites and projectiles. The pyroshock generated by the pyrotechnic-separation device can cause serious damage to surrounding electronic equipment owing to its high-frequency characteristics, which leads to mission failure. Therefore, solving the pyroshock problem is necessary. Typically, attenuation of the pyroshock propagation based on the understanding of the shock-propagation characteristics of a structure is possible. However, as pyrotechnics (or explosives) cannot be used for every pyroshock-propagation experiment due to the high cost and risk, a device for simulating a pyroshock environment that does not use pyrotechnics is required. In this study, a pyroshock simulator was developed, which could generate the desired shock environment by controlling shock environment-generation variables and be tested for any test structure. For this purpose, a resonator attached to the test structure and a pneumatic launch device was designed and fabricated. A resonator that generates a desired shock environment was designed by predicting the shock generation through impact analysis. A pyroshock simulator that generates a shock like an actual pyroshock was developed through comparison with the shock-response spectrum of a pyrotechnic initiator. The repeatability was verified, and the frequency and magnitude of the shock generated by the pyroshock simulator could be controlled by adjusting the collision velocity of the steel ball and the thickness of the resonator disk.