Although the primary focus of MISSFIT is to utilize a magnetic field to deflect particles, the Mechanical Group is concerned with studying what happens when particles interact directly with the walls of the spacecraft. To this end, the Mechanical Group is tasked with simulating the impact of micro-particles of various energies on the walls of the spacecraft. The ultimate goal of the impact analysis is to determine the energies at which micro-particles can be deflected rather than stopped, reducing damage to the material by reducing the amount of impact energy absorbed by it.
The Mechanical Group implements a two-dimensional elastic collision model to investigate how particles collide and impart energy onto the outside of the spacecraft. Superelastic materials, such as nitinol (a nickel-titanium alloy with superelastic and shape-memory properties), further protect the spacecraft from debris that is not diverted. An initial model has been developed based on simple harmonic couplings between surface elements to describe both the tensile and shear stresses, though these results have not been realistic.
Current goals include developing and refining our model for particle impacts, implementing them into a working numerical code, and utilizing data for interplanetary debris. The Radiation Group has already compiled data for use in simulations.
Furthermore, the simulations performed by the Mechanical Group will continue to study more combinations of previously mentioned materials as well as other novel materials that may be invented around the world in the meantime.