Henry C. de Groh III and Bruce M. Steinetz

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Effects of Hypervelocity Impacts on Silicone 

Elastomer Seals and Mating Aluminum Surfaces

NASA/TM—2009-215836

December 2009

AIAA–2009–5249
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Henry C. de Groh III and Bruce M. Steinetz

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Effects of Hypervelocity Impacts on Silicone 

Elastomer Seals and Mating Aluminum Surfaces

NASA/TM—2009-215836

December 2009

AIAA–2009–5249

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Glenn Research Center

Cleveland, Ohio 44135

Prepared for the

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Denver, Colorado, August 2–8, 2009
Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank Donald Henderson and Karen Rodriguez: Don and Karen’s great team at White Sands Test Facility 

did all of the hypervelocity impacts used in this work. We acknowledge the collaboration and contributions of Richard Rauser 

and Donald Roth for helpful CT work. 

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subject to revision as analysis proceeds.
NASA/TM—2009-215836 1 

Effects of Hypervelocity Impacts on Silicone Elastomer 

Seals and Mating Aluminum Surfaces 

Henry C. de Groh III and Bruce M. Steinetz 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Glenn Research Center 

Cleveland, Ohio 44135 

Abstract 

While in space silicone based elastomer seals planned for use on NASA’s Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) are 

exposed to threats from micrometeoroids and orbital debris (MMOD). An understanding of these threats is required 

to assess risks to the crew, the CEV orbiter, and missions. An Earth based campaign of hypervelocity impacts on 

small scale seal rings has been done to help estimate MMOD threats to the primary docking seal being developed for 

the Low Impact Docking System (LIDS). LIDS is being developed to enable the CEV to dock to the ISS 

(International Space Station) or to Altair (NASA’s next lunar lander). The silicone seal on LIDS seals against 

aluminum alloy flanges on ISS or Altair. Since the integrity of a seal depends on both sealing surfaces, aluminum 

targets were also impacted. The variables considered in this study included projectile mass, density, speed, incidence 

angle, seal materials, and target surface treatments and coatings. Most of the impacts used a velocity near 8 km/s and 

spherical aluminum projectiles (density = 2.7 g/cm3

), however, a few tests were done near 5.6 km/s. Tests were also 

performed using projectile densities of 7.7, 2.79, 2.5 or 1.14 g/ cm3

. Projectile incidence angles examined included 

0°, 45°, and 60° from normal to the plane of the target. Elastomer compounds impacted include Parker’s S0383-70 

and Esterline’s ELA-SA-401 in the as received condition, or after an atomic oxygen treatment. Bare, anodized and 

nickel coated aluminum targets were tested simulating the candidate mating seal surface materials. After impact, 

seals and aluminum plates were leak tested: damaged seals were tested against an undamaged aluminum plate; and 

undamaged seals were placed at various locations over craters in aluminum plates. It has been shown that silicone 

elastomer seals can withstand an impressive level of damage before leaking beyond allowable limits. In general on 

the tests performed to date, the diameter of the crater in either the elastomer, or the aluminum, must be at least as big 

as 80% to 90% of width of the bulb of the seal before significant leakage occurs. 

Nomenclature 

C speed of sound in the target, m/s 

c-c distance between the center of the crater and the center-line of the seal, mm 

d projectile diameter 

Dseal average diameter of the crater in the elastomer, = (dv +ds + dc)/3, mm 

Df average diameter of the crater in the flange material, in this case, aluminum alloy, = (dfi + dfo)/2, mm 

dfi average inner diameter of the crater, in plane with the surface of the metal target, mm 

dfo average outer diameter of the crater, the outer diameter of the metal crater’s crown, mm 

dv average maximum diameter vaporized in the crater in the elastomer, mm 

ds average diameter of secondary crater damage in the elastomer, mm 

dc average diameter of radial cracks in the elastomer, mm 

Dcrit the minimum crater diameter that causes seal or flange failure, the “critical” crater diameter, mm 

h crown height of the crater, mm 

H Brinell Hardness of the target 

KE kinetic energy, joules, J 

KEcrit minimum kinetic energy that will cause a seal/flange leakage failure, J 

m projectile mass 

ρp projectile density, g/cm3 

ρt target density, g/cm3

V projectile impact velocity, km/s 

wbulb the width of the active bulb of the seal, shown in Figure 2 for the Esterline seal 

WF seal or flange width upon which a particular particle must hit to cause a failure; example for flange: 

WF|f = Df – Dcrit|f, mm 

s as a subscript refers to the elastomer seal 
NASA/TM—2009-215836 2 

f as a subscript refers to the metal flange 

F as a subscript refers to seal/flange failure 

n as a subscript refers to velocity component perpendicular to the target’s surface 

Acronyms 

APAS Androgynous Peripheral Attachment System 

ATLAS APAS To Low impact docking system Adaptor System 

C-P Cour-Palais 

CT Computed Tomography 

CEV Crew Exploration Vehicle 

ISS International Space Station 

LIDS Low Impact Docking System 

MMOD Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris 

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

WSTF White Sands Test Facility 

I. Introduction 

NASA’s Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) and the International Space Station (ISS) will be exposed to very high 

velocity impacts from micrometeoroids and orbital debris.1-6 The CEV will have a docking system which enables it 

to connect to ISS and other spacecraft and a hatch that opens so crew and supplies can pass between them. This 

docking system is known as the Low Impact Docking System (LIDS) and uses a silicone rubber seal to seal in cabin 

air.7

 Figure 1 shows schematics of ISS, CEV, LIDS, and the LIDS main seal- which is a set of two concentric seals. 

Also shown in Figure 1 is an artist’s rendering of ATLAS (APAS To Low impact docking system Adaptor System, 

where APAS is the Androgynous Peripheral Attachment System) which is the docking/connecting element on ISS 

that docks with LIDS, sometimes referred to as the passive side of LIDS. The rubber seals on LIDS press against the 

aluminum flange on ATLAS. Prior to docking, both of these mating surfaces are exposed to the space environment. 

The main aspects of the space environment that cause damage to spacecraft are atomic oxygen, ultraviolet and 

ionizing radiations, and MMOD.8

 The effects of atomic oxygen, ultraviolet and ionizing radiations on the LIDS 

seals have been presented elsewhere,9

 as have the probabilities of the seal and flange surfaces getting hit by 

MMOD.10 

The objective of this work is to quantify MMOD damage to silicone rubber seals and the metal surfaces these 

seals mate to, and determine how this damage affects seal performance. Impacts from the MMOD environment were 

simulated using ground based hypervelocity impacts. This paper presents our results of ground based hypervelocity 

impacts on silicone rubber seals and aluminum sheet plates along with leakage testing of damaged seal and plates. 

 a) b) 

Figure 1. ISS, CEV, LIDS and the LIDS seal. a) Artist’s drawing of CEV docking to ATLAS which is 

connected to ISS;11 b) Schematic of LIDS and its primary seal which are located at the nose of CEV. 

LIDS seal 

ATLAS flange ATLAS flange 
NASA/TM—2009-215836 3 

Although silicone based seals have been used extensively by NASA,12 we have not found applicable 

hypervelocity impact studies for elastomers prior to the work presented here. Related work has typically 

concentrated on modeling the MMOD environment,3,13-16 or on metal, glass, or composite targets, or on the depth of 

penetration of the hypervelocity projectile, rather than the diameter of the crater and characteristics of the crater’s 

crown (the area around the crater that is raised above the surface of the substrate).3,17-19 Many estimates of crater size 

or depth begin with Cour-Palais type relations.3,14,17 which are applicable to the threshold penetration of single, thin, 

ductile metal plates. Such Cour-Palais penetration relations are not directly applicable to our case since those 

treatments concentrate on projectile penetration depth, where as we are considering elastomers instead of ductile 

metals, relatively thick targets, and have a failure mode that is dominated by the surface diameter of the crater and 

crown morphology. Our seals generally fail one of three ways. The first failure mode is when the projectile makes a 

crater in the elastomer that spans the width of the seal. The second is when the diameter of the crater in the metal 

surface, upon which the seal is to mate, spans the width of the seal. The third failure mode is when the crown of the 

crater is very tall or has “rolled over” making a tube, or protected area, that the seal cannot seal over. The depth of 

projectile penetration found through Cour-Palais type data and analysis is not equal to the crater’s diameter in-plane 

with the target’s surface. However, prior work has shown that for projectiles and targets of the same material, at 

sufficiently high velocities, the in-plane diameter of a crater is close to two times the depth of the crater.20,21 CourPalais estimates (with the adoption of this semi-spherical convention) and other scaling laws,22 will be compared to 

recent hypervelocity tests in aluminum and silicone based elastomers. Horz et al.23 have presented very detailed 

measurements of crater depth, diameters and details associated with crowns made in aluminum targets; the works of 

Christiansen,24 Cour-Palais16 and Watts25 are also reviewed in Horz’s paper. 

Elastomer seals made of two silicone based elastomer compounds were impacted with hypervelocity particles. 

The leak rate of these seals was tested before and after impacts. To examine how the seals will perform with a flange 

that might be damaged from MMOD, 6 mm thick aluminum alloy plates were impacted, then an undamaged seal 

placed over the impact crater and leak tested. 

We present in this paper the reasoning and experiment procedures used in the design and manufacture of the 

small scale seals used to mimic the LIDS docking seal, the hypervelocity test methods, and the measurements made 

of the damaged seals and metal plates in terms of physical damage and resulting leakage. Although the number of 

impact tests was limited, the projectile’s incidence angle, speed, mass, and density were varied in an effort to 

determine what effects these might have on damage. Most impacts were done near room temperature, but some 

impacts were done with elastomer targets cooled to near -78 °C, which is roughly equal to the coldest non-operating 

temperature of -75 °C for the LIDS seals.26 Trends are developed so that this work might extend to other seals 

exposed to the space environment and thereby enable their failures due to MMOD damage to be predicted. 

II. Procedure 

A. Hypervelocity Impacts 

1. Targets 

Hypervelocity impacts of elastomer and aluminum alloy targets were done at White Sands Test Facility in New 

Mexico.27 The two peroxide cured, silicone based elastomer compounds were Parker’s S0383-70, and Esterline’s 

ELA-SA-401. Parker’s S0383-70 is rust colored with a Shore A hardness of 70; Esterline’s ELA-SA-401 is blond 

with a hardness of about 40. The relevant properties of the elastomers are approximately: density = 1.15 g/cm3

; 

tensile strength = 8 MPa; and speed of sound = 984 m/s. The 6061-T651 aluminum targets were 178×178×6.35 mm 

thick (7×7×1⁄4 in.) with a surface finish of 0.4 μm (15 μin.). Elastomer targets were tested in the “as received 

condition”, and after a treatment of atomic oxygen. Atomic oxygen treatments are used to form a SiOx rich surface 

layer to decrease the adhesive properties of the elastomers.28 Aluminum targets were tested as received, anodized 

(MIL-A-8625, Type II, Class 1), and after receiving a 0.013 mm (0.0005 in.) thick coating of electroless nickel 

(AMS-C-26074, Class 4, Grade A). The properties of the 6061 T651 targets relevant to hypervelocity impacts were: 

density = 2.7 g/cm3

, Brinell Hardness = 95; ultimate tensile strength = 310 MPa; and speed of sound = 

6400 m/s. It is expected that the flanges on ISS to which LIDS will mate will be aluminum alloy, either anodized, or 

perhaps coated with nickel for electrical conductivity reasons. 

Two basic LIDS seal designs are being examined; both designs have two concentric seals for redundancy. The 

Parker seal, known as a Gask-O-Seal, has relatively narrow bulbs while the Esterline seal, known as 

Esterline/NASA 2-piece seal, has wider seal pads. Figure 2 shows scaled down versions of the LIDS seals we are 

testing, and schematics of their cross sections. In hypervelocity tests, the LIDS seal designs were mimicked using 

seals of similar bulb width and height cut from 5.5 mm thick sheet material of the same elastomer compound using a 

water-knife. At the time impact tests were started, no small scale Gask-O-Seals or Esterline 2-piece seals were 
NASA/TM—2009-215836 4 

available. About 70% of the time the projectile successfully hit the target; about 30% of the time the projectile 

missed, nearly missed, or the test failed due to some other problem. We are in the process now of impacting small 

scale engineering seals. Figure 3 shows examples of the seals used in this study. In addition to these, a couple tests 

impacted a 3.2 mm (1/8 in.) thick aluminum plate coated with a 0.51 mm thick layer of the Parker S0383-70 

compound simulating the web material at the base of the Gask-O-Seal trough. The layer of elastomer was bonded to 

the plate by Parker using the same methods they use in the production of Gask-O-Seals. 

A few tests were done with seals tilted at either 45° or 60° (where 0° is perpendicular to the target surface). As 

the seal is tilted, the top surface of the seal becomes increasingly difficult to hit. Thus only a small number of 

impacts with the seal tilted were done. Impacts done at an angle were set up such that the path of the projectile was 

parallel to the seal’s major radius, coming from the seal’s center, towards its outer diameter. 

During flight operations the orbiter is often flown in a particular orientation to the Sun so that the temperature of 

specific parts of the orbiter can be controlled. While the engines of CEV are flown facing the Sun, the LIDS seals at 

the nose can get quite cold. Others have estimated the minimum temperature of LIDS near the seals to be –78 °C 

(–105 °F).29 Tests were done with the plate upon which the seals were mounted chilled so that the temperature of the 

seal being impacted, as measured by a thermocouple imbedded in the rubber, was –78 °C ± 5 °C. The maximum 

“survival” temperature expected for the LIDS seals during flight operations is 125 °C (257 °F); impact tests at this 

higher temperature are planned. 

2. Projectiles 

During missions the seals are threatened by both meteoroids and orbital debris while undocked. Debris is prevalent 

in LEO, but decreases as orbital altitude increases. The average velocity of debris is between 7 and 8 km/s for 

particles between 0.01 and 1 cm respectively. The average velocity of micrometeoroids is about 20 km/s.3,30 The 

density of orbital debris varies, but a good approximation of the average density of debris is 2.7 g/cm3

, the density of 

aluminum.15,30 Although rocky and iron-rich meteoroids exist, meteoroids are primarily made of ice. Thus a density 

of 1 g/cm3

 is considered a good estimate of meteoroid density.31 The velocities characteristic of meteoroids exceed 

current ground based hypervelocity impact capabilities. However, velocities characteristic of debris (7.5 km/s) can 

be well matched by facilities at White Sands Test Facility (WSTF). Densities of projectiles can also be well matched 

in labs. Three different materials were used as projectiles, all were in the form of spheres: 

 a) b) c) 

Figure 2. Parker Gask-O-Seal, and Esterline/NASA 2-piece seals. a) shows a 10 cm (4 in.) diameter Parker 

Gask-O-Seal, a 30.5 cm (12 in.) diameter Parker seal, and the Esterline seal with 9.1 mm wide seal beads 

(blond); b) schematic of the Parker Gask-O-Seal cross section with the width of the seal area shown; 

c) schematic of the Esterline/NASA 2-piece seal with wbulb labeled. 

 a) b) c) 

Figure 3. Test articles used in hypervelocity impact tests. a) 5.2 mm and 2.5 mm wide Parker “ring” seals; 

b) 9.1 mm wide Esterline “ring” seal; c) anodized aluminum plate cratered by a 1 mm diameter, 1.4 mg, 

8 km/s aluminum projectile and a 5.1 mm wide Parker seal. 

 38.1 mm 

wbulb 
NASA/TM—2009-215836 5 

• 2017 T4 Grade 200 aluminum, density = 2.79 g/cm3

, hardness 105 HB. These are ball bearings with a fairly 

high hardness for aluminum alloys. Variations in the copper content of this alloy can be expected to cause 

density variation of about ± 1%. 

• Dry soda lime glass, density = 2.5 ± 0.1 g/cm3

. These are 9000 Series, NIST Traceable Particle 

Size Standards from Thermo Scientific, with a Moh hardness of about 6.5 and a Young’s modulus of about 

10×106

 psi. The sizes we used (0.4 and 1 mm) had a size distribution standard deviation of 3%. 

• Nylon66, density = 1.14 g/ cm3

. 

3. Hypervelocity Impacts 

Hypervelocity impacts were performed at the White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) Remote Hypervelocity Test 

Laboratory (RHTL) in Las Cruces, New Mexico, using their .17-caliber Light Gas Gun.27 This system verifies the 

condition of the projectile and measures particle velocity using ultra-high speed digital imaging SIM cameras 

manufactured by Photo-Sonics Inc.. Projectile velocity is also measured with laser intervalometer and photodiode 

flash detector stations. Maximum velocities available were about 8.3 km/s; tests at between 5 and 8.3 km/s were 

done. The velocity goal for most tests was 8.2 km/s. Figure 4 shows ultra-high speed images from the SIM cameras 

for Strike 12 which was a 1 mm diameter, 1.46 mg aluminum sphere striking an anodized aluminum target at 

8.03 km/s. The images are 2.1 μs apart, and the exposure time of each frame is 30 ns. Figure 5 shows ultra-high 

speed images of Strike 2, a hit onto the Parker elastomer using a 0.7 mm diameter, 0.50 mg aluminum sphere at 

8.17 km/s. 

Table 1 presents the hypervelocity tests accomplished and used in this study to determine crater diameters and 

seal failures resulting from various projectiles. The Strike No. and Specimen ID are included to assist with 

traceability. The mass of the projectile provided was calculated based on the shape (spherical), diameter, and density 

of the particle. 

Figure 4. Ultra-high speed images of Strike 12. 2.1 μs between images, exposure time was 30 ns. Aluminum

target hit by a 1 mm dia., 1.46 mg, 8.03 km/s aluminum projectile. Note the raised crater rim material due to

the energetic hit. 
NASA/TM—2009-215836 6 

B. Crater Measurements 

Several measurements of damaged areas in the elastomer and aluminum alloy targets were made. From these 

measurements an average crater diameter, Dseal or Df, was calculated. If the crater was elliptical, the diameter was set 

to the arithmetic average of the ellipse’s major and minor axes. 

 For the elastomers, five measurements were made: 

1) dv: The average maximum diameter of the vaporized void at the center of the crater. An example of a crater in 

one of the elastomers tested is provided in Fig. 6. It can be seen in the cross sectional view made by computed 

tomography (CT) provided in Fig. 6b) that the maximum diameter of the vaporized void is, in this case, larger than 

the entry hole. dv was measured using optical photographs and close inspection of the crater and the level of 

undercutting. Figure 7 shows dv drawn on a crater in a Parker seal. 

2) dmin: The average minimum diameter of the crater, sometimes referred to as the entry hole. 

3) ds: The average diameter of secondary damage, such as a region, or secondary crater, created by chunks of the 

surface being blown off, as show in Fig. 7. If there was no significant secondary damage, or if its diameter was less 

than dv, ds was set equal to dv. For example, there is no significant secondary damage in the Esterline seal shown in 

Fig. 6; in this case, ds would be set equal to dv. 

4) dc: The average diameter of the cracked region, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. 

The average diameter of the crater in the elastomer, Dseal, was defined as the average of dv, ds, and dc (i.e., 

Dseal = (dv + ds + dc)/3). 

5) The hit location of the projectile was quantified and defined by the surface distance between the crater’s 

center and the center-line of the seal, denoted c-c, (where the center-line of the seal is defined as the circumferential 

line midway between the seal’s inner and outer diameters). This distance between the crater’s center and seal’s 

center-line, c-c, is also used in the testing of undamaged seals over cratered metal targets. Values of c-c are negative 

if the crater is closer to the seal’s inner wall, positive if the crater is located nearer the outer wall of the seal, and c-c

= 0 if the center of the crater is at the seal’s center-line. 

Figure 5. Ultra-high speed images of Strike 2. 2.1 μs between images, exposure time was 30 ns. Parker

elastomer target hit by a 0.7 mm dia., 0.50 mg, 8.17 km/s aluminum projectile. This damaged seal did not

leak significantly. 
NASA/TM—2009-215836 7 

Table 1. Projectiles, targets and velocities used in impact tests. Targets were Parker S0383-70, Esterline ELA-SA-401, 

6061 T651 aluminum, or the aluminum coated with a 0.51 mm thick layer of the Parker elastomer. Pre-treatment notes 

exposure to atomic oxygen, or a coating on the aluminum. Mass was calculated based on density and diameter. All 

projectiles were spherical. Aluminum projectiles were 2017 T4 grade 200 ball bearings, ρp = 2.79 g/cm3

; Glass projectiles 

were 9000 Series soda lime glass size standards, ρp =2.5 g/cm3; Nylon 66 had a density of 1.14 g/cm3; the steel projectile 

was 440 C stainless, ρp =7.7 g/cm3

. Strikes 35c, 35d, 37 and 38b were done with the target cooled to –78 °C (–108 °F). 

Strike 

no. 

Target 

material 

Target 

pre-treatment, 

AO: atoms/cm2

or coating 

Target width or 

thickness, mm 

Angle, 

degrees 

off 

vertical 

Mass, 

mg 

Projectile 

diameter, 

mm 

Projectile 

density, 

g/cc 

Velocity, 

km/s 

31 Parker As received 2.5 wide 0 0.093 0.4 2.79 7.57 

29 Parker 8.0E+19 2.5 wide 0 0.093 0.4 2.79 5.75 

9 Parker 8.0E+19 2.5 wide 0 0.078 0.391 2.5 8.19 

35c Parker –78 °C 1.0E+20 2.5 wide 0 0.093 0.4 2.79 7.8 

17 Parker 1.0E+20 2.5 wide 45 0.093 0.4 2.79 7.93 

35d Parker –78 °C 1.2E+20 2.5 wide 0 0.093 0.4 2.79 8.22 

15 Parker 1.0E+20 2.5 wide 0 0.183 0.5 2.79 8.04 

37 Parker –78 °C 1.2E+20 2.5 wide 0 0.183 0.5 2.79 8.29 

6 Parker 8.0E+19 2.5 wide 0 0.316 0.6 2.79 8.22 

6b Parker 8.0E+19 2.5 wide 0 0.316 0.6 2.79 8.26 

2 Parker 7.5E+20 5.2 wide 0 0.501 0.7 2.79 8.17 

7d Parker 3.5E+20 5.2 wide 60 0.748 0.8 2.79 8.27 

7c Parker 7.5E+20 5.2 wide 60 0.748 0.8 2.79 8.29 

7f Parker 3.5E+20 5.2 wide 60 0.805 0.82 2.79 8.24 

8 Parker 1.0E+20 5.2 wide 45 3.209 1.3 2.79 8.34 

21 Parker/Al As received 0.5 on 3 thick 0 0.093 0.4 2.79 8.24 

22 Parker/Al As received 0.5 on 3 thick 60 0.748 0.8 2.79 8.19 

30 Esterline As received 9.1 wide 0 1.461 1 2.79 5.56 

32 Esterline As received 9.1 wide 0 1.461 1 2.79 7.47 

5b Esterline As received 9.1 wide 45 7.177 1.7 2.79 8.1 

3 Esterline 3.4E+20 9.1 wide 60 0.501 0.7 2.79 8.21 

1 Esterline 7.0E+20 9.1 wide 0 0.748 0.8 2.79 8.3 

18 Esterline 1.0E+20 9.1 wide 0 1.031 1.2 1.14 7.84 

36 Esterline 1.5E+20 9.1 wide 0 1.461 1 2.79 7.56 

10 Esterline 1.0E+20 9.1 wide 0 1.771 1.106 2.5 8.38 

4c Esterline 3.4E+20 9.1 wide 0 1.461 1 2.79 8.19 

16 Esterline 1.0E+20 9.1 wide 0 2.096 1.52 1.14 7.61 

38b Esterline –74 °C 1.5E+20 9.1 wide 45 3.209 1.3 2.79 7.95 

8c Esterline 7.0E+20 9.1 wide 45 3.209 1.3 2.79 8.24 

14 Al As received 6.3 thick 0 0.093 0.4 2.79 7.96 

23 Al As received 6.3 thick 0 5.984 1.6 2.79 7.9 

13 Al Anodized 6.3 thick 0 0.183 0.5 2.79 8.14 

12 Al Anodized 6.3 thick 0 1.461 1 2.79 8.03 

19 Al Anodized 6.3 thick 0 5.762 1.58 2.79 7.9 

11 Al Anodized 6.3 thick 0 11.687 2 2.79 7.65 

40 Al Ni coated 6.3 thick 45 0.093 0.4 2.79 7.5 

39b Al Ni coated 6.3 thick 0 0.093 0.4 2.79 8.34 

50 Stainless As received 3.0 thick 0 0.504 0.5 7.7 7.6 
NASA/TM—2009-215836 8 

 

For the metal targets representing the flange with which the seals mate, three measurements were made: 

1) dfi: The average inner diameter of the metal crater. This measurement was taken from an image of the crater 

by placing a circle (or ellipse) around the crater near its inflection point, near where the crater meets the plane of the 

target’s surface, as shown in Fig. 8. 

2) dfo: The average outer diameter of the metal crater. This measurement was taken from an image of the crater 

by placing a circle (or ellipse) around the outer edges of the crater’s crown, as shown in Fig. 8. 

3) h: The average height of the crown of the crater above the target’s surface. Several measurements were taken 

of the height of the crater around is circumference and averaged. Measurements were made using a side view image 

of the crater with a scale placed near the crown. 

The average crater diameter in metal targets, Df, was the average of dfi and dfo (i.e. Df = (dfi + dfo)/2) 

Figure 8. Cratered aluminum plate. Strike 19, 

anodized 6061 T651 aluminum alloy plate hit by a 

1.58 mm diameter, 5.76 mg, aluminum sphere at 

7.9 km/s; black circles show the inner diameter, dfi, 

and outer diameter, dfo; a mm scale is at the top of 

the image. 

Figure 7. Cratered Parker seal. Strike 17, 

Parker 2.5 mm wide seal, hit by a 0.4 mm 

diameter, 0.093 mg aluminum sphere at 

7.93 km/s, with the crater diameters dv, ds, and 

dc shown. 

 a) b) 

Figure 6. Cratered Esterline seal. a) Top view of the 9.1 mm wide Esterline seal damaged by a 0.8 mm 

diameter, 0.728 mg Al sphere at 8.3 km/s, Strike 1; the black ellipses show dc—the extent of cracks 

radiating from the crater, and dv—the diameter of the vaporized material; b) Cross sectional view of the 

crater using computed tomography, seal is 5.5 mm thick, Strike 1. 

dc

ds

dv

dfo

dfi

dv

dc
NASA/TM—2009-215836 9 

 

C. Seal Leakage 

Elastomer seals and aluminum alloy plates damaged by hypervelocity projectiles were leak tested in a fixture 

known as the Impact Specimen Flow Fixture.32 Seals were compressed between flat plates separated by shims, 25% 

of the seal ring height and the space between them pressurized to 1 atmosphere above the pressure in the room. After 

pressurization input valves were closed and the system monitored for leakage for between 2 and 16 hours via a 

pressure decay method with accurate pressure and temperature measurements. Figure 9 shows several elements of 

the test hardware: the lower plate of the flow test fixture with an Esterline seal damaged by an impact on the 

system’s bottom plate; a plate used to hold and position Parker seals during impact testing at White Sands with a 

Parker seal mounted; and an impact damaged aluminum plate. 

In the testing of cratered aluminum plates, an undamaged seal was used and the crater placed at various locations 

across the width of the seal. The placement of the crater over and onto the seal was done carefully by eye. Then, 

after the test was finished, the heavy top plate and cratered plate were removed and the location of the crater 

measured from the imprint of the crater on the rubber; various magnifying glasses were often used to help with this 

measurement. The location of the crater is defined as, c-c, the distance between the center of the crater and the 

center-line of the seal. The uncertainty of this c-c measurement is judged to be ± 0.1 mm. In some cases there was a 

dimple on the back side of the plate from the impact. In such situations shims were used to prevent the top plate 

from pressing on the dimple and to maintain the plates parallel. In some cases the plate was perforated. In these 

cases an o-ring was placed on the back side of the plate around the perforation and shims used to achieve good 

compression and separation of the top and impacted plates. A test of this seal around the perforation was done prior 

to testing over a crater to make sure any leakage during a test was coming from the cratered, crown side only. 

Seals and plates were hit with particles of various kinetic energies, and then leak tested. In this way Dcrit and the 

minimum kinetic energy required to cause seal failure was found for four cases: damaged Parker and Esterline seals 

against undamaged aluminum, and damaged aluminum pressed against undamaged Parker and Esterline seals. A 

seal/flange failure was defined as leakage equal to or greater than 0.001 kg air/day. Once Dcrit and the relation 

between projectile kinetic energy, KE, and resulting crater size are found, the width of the seal or flange area 

susceptible to failure, WF, due to a hit from a particular particle can be determined. The development and use of WF

is presented in a companion paper by de Groh et al.10 

III. Results 

Measurements made on damaged plates and seals are presented in Tables 2, 3, and 4. The maximum leakage 

allowed for the whole CEV spacecraft is about 0.01 kg air/day. The maximum leakage allocated for the LIDS seal is 

about 0.001 kg air/day. We chose 0.001 kg air/day as the leakage failure criteria corresponding to a Loss of Mission 

objective. 

Figure 9. Impact Specimen Flow Fixture. Tapped 15.2 cm2

 plate has a Parker seal 

mounted; metal flange: 17.8 cm2

 plate has two craters in it; bottom flow fixture plate 

shown with an Esterline seal ring with a small crater. 
NASA/TM—2009-215836 10 

Table 2. Surface Diameters and Crown Heights of Craters in Flange Materials. Kinetic energy based on projectile 

speed, not the velocity component normal to the target’s surface. Leakage column indicates seal pass or failure for the 

2.5 mm wide Parker seal (P), or the 9.1 mm wide Esterline (E) seal. 

Strike 

no. 

Mass, mg Velocity, 

km/s 

Kinetic 

energy, 

J 

Crater ID, 

dfi, 

mm 

Crater 

OD, 

dfo, 

mm 

Df, 

mm 

Df/wbulb, % Crown 

height, h, 

mm 

Leakage 

40 0.093 7.5 2.63 1.46 1.73 1.59 64 0.255 P-Pass 

14 0.093 7.96 2.96 1.78 2.47 2.13 85 0.351 P-Fail 

39b 0.093 8.34 3.25 1.75 2.20 1.98 79 0.344 P-Pass 

13 0.183 8.14 6.05 2.20 2.82 2.51 100 0.42 P-Fail 

12 1.461 8.03 47.10 4.70 6.10 5.40 59 0.98 E-Pass 

19 5.762 7.9 179.80 7.02 9.57 8.30 91 1.50 E-Fail 

23 5.984 7.9 186.72 7.09 9.29 8.19 90 1.27 E-Pass 

11 11.687 7.65 341.97 9.30 10.80 10.05 110 1.00 E-Fail 

50 0.504 7.6 14.55 1.96 2.67 2.32 

Table 3. Diameters for Craters in Parker’s S0383-70 elastomer. Kinetic energy is calculated using projectile velocity, not 

the velocity component perpendicular to the target. Strikes 2 and 7, boxed in bold, used wider Parker seals (5.2 mm), 

Strikes 21 and 22 were on large aluminum plates with a 0.5 mm thick coating of S0383-70, all other strikes were on 2.5 

mm wide seals. See Table 1 for details on specific strikes. Accuracy of leakage flow measurements was typically ± 5×10-6

kg air/day, leakage below this level is listed as 5×10-6 kg/day. Seal failure is defined as leakage > 0.001 kg air/day. Shaded 

data was used in Fig. 17 and in the calculation of the Dseal,(KE) power law function. Strikes 35c, 35d, and 37 were at –78 

°C. 

Strike 

no. 

Mass, 

mg 

Velocity, 

km/s 

Kinetic 

energy, 

J 

dv, 

mm 

ds, 

mm 

dc, 

mm 

Dseal, 

mm 

Dseal/wbulb, 

% 

Distance 

from seal’s 

center, 

c-c, 

mm 

Leakage, 

kg/day 

29 0.093 5.75 1.55 1.07 1.89 2.6 1.853 74 0.18 5.0E–06 

9 0.078 8.19 2.62 1.275 2.2 2.84 2.104 84 0.041 0.02 

31 0.093 7.57 2.68 0.68 0.97 1.08 0.911 36 –1.06 5.0E–06 

35c 0.093 7.8 2.84 1.17 1.54 1.717 1.477 59 0.94 5.0E–06 

17 0.093 7.93 2.94 1.14 2.44 2.8 2.127 85 0.38 5.0E–06 

35d 0.093 8.22 3.16 1.125 1.63 1.76 1.505 60 –0.69 5.0E–06 

15 0.183 8.04 5.90 1.52 3.26 3.38 2.720 109 –0.19 0.3 

37 0.183 8.29 6.27 1.86 3.27 3.36 2.830 113 –0.3 0.1 

6 0.316 8.22 10.66 1.105 1.31 1.91 1.442 58 1.02 5.4E–06 

6b 0.316 8.26 10.76 1.89 4.01 4.07 3.323 133 0.167 0.2 

2 0.501 8.17 16.72 2.37 4.69 6.43 4.497 86 –0.4 5.0E–06 

7d 0.748 8.27 25.58 3.06 4.52 7.75 5.110 n/a n/a 5.0E–06 

7c 0.748 8.29 25.70 1.96 3.45 3.93 3.113 60 1.83 5.0E–06 

7f 0.805 8.24 27.34 2.46 5.27 6.2 4.643 n/a n/a 5.0E–06 

21 0.093 8.24 3.17 2.4 2.75 2.98 2.710 n/a n/a 

22 0.748 8.19 25.08 3.45 6 6.2 5.217 n/a n/a 
NASA/TM—2009-215836 11 

Table 4. Diameters for Craters in Esterline’s ELA-SA-401 Elastomer. Kinetic energy is calculated using projectile 

velocity, not the velocity component perpendicular to the target. See Table 1 for additional details on specific Strikes. 

Accuracy of leakage flow measurements was typically ± 5×10-6 kg air/day, leakage below this level is listed as 5×10-6

kg/day. Seal failure is defined as leakage > 0.001 kg air/day. Strikes shaded gray were used in Dseal, KE power law 

analysis (Fig. 18); Strikes 36 and 38b were at –78 °C. 

Strike 

no. 

Mass, mg Velocity, 

km/s 

Kinetic 

energy, 

J 

dv, 

mm 

ds, 

mm 

dc, 

mm 

Dseal, 

mm 

Dseal/wbulb, 

% 

Distance 

from seal’s 

center, 

c-c, 

mm 

Leakage, 

kg/day 

3 0.501 8.21 16.8871 2.95 4.506 4.81 4.09 45 2.3 5.0E-06 

30 1.461 5.56 22.58 2.84 2.84 6.85 4.18 46 0.54 5.0E-06 

1 0.748 8.3 25.7632 3.29 3.29 6.6 4.39 48 –1.01 5.0E-06 

18 1.031 7.84 31.6994 3.45 6.09 7.81 5.78 64 2.06 5.0E-06 

32 1.461 7.47 40.7582 3.61 3.914 6.78 4.77 52 2.14 5.0E-06 

36 1.461 7.56 41.7462 3.2 3.2 4.89 3.76 41 3.37 5.0E-06 

4c 1.461 8.19 48.9939 4.53 4.53 10.38 6.48 71 0 5.0E-06 

16 2.096 7.61 60.698 4.23 8.49 10.12 7.61 84 0.187 0.3 

10 1.771 8.38 62.1837 3.18 4.78 10.07 6.01 66 0.7 5.0E-06 

38b 3.209 7.95 101.423 5.3 7.5 8.6 7.13 78 1.95 5.0E-06 

8c 3.209 8.24 108.958 5.2 8.7 10.87 8.26 91 1.8 5.0E-06 

5b 7.177 8.1 235.446 5.63 11.03 14.62 10.43 115 –0.63 0.3 

D. Aluminum Targets 

Table 2 presents results for 6061 

aluminum plates, listing the strike number, 

the mass, velocity, and kinetic energy of the 

particle that hit the plate, the inner (dfi), outer 

(dfo) and average diameter of the “flange” 

crater (Df), the crater’s crown height, h, and 

whether or not a seal was able to seal over 

the crater. The narrower Parker seal will not 

be able to seal over a crater in aluminum 

made by a particle with kinetic energy of 2.9 

J or greater. The 9.1 mm wide Esterline seal 

fails over craters made by particles of about 

180 J kinetic energy. The energies at which 

the seals first start to fail, KEcrit, are 

important observations that enable us to 

determine the likelihood of seal failure in the 

space environment.10 Figure 10 shows the 

kinetic energy plotted with the resulting 

average crater diameter, Df, for hits into 

aluminum targets. Note that kinetic energy in 

Table 2 and in the plot is calculated using the 

speed of the particle, not the velocity 

component perpendicular to the target. A 

power law fit of these data yields the following: 

 Df = 1.3(KE)

0.3556 (1) 

Figure 10. Average Crater Surface Diameter in Aluminum 

from Impacts of Different Kinetic Energy. Target and 

projectiles were 6061 T651 and 2017 T4 aluminum 

respectively; projectile diameters ranged from 0.4 to 1.6 mm 

with velocities from 7.5 to 8.34 km/s. 

Df = 1.3(KE)0.3556

R2 = 0.9911

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

0 100 200 300 400

Ave. Crater dia. Df, mm

Kinetic Energy, J
NASA/TM—2009-215836 12 

where Df is the average surface diameter of the crater in aluminum in units of mm, and KE is kinetic energy of the 

projectile in units of Joules. Strike 40 was the only impact test done so far with the aluminum target tilted 45°. 

1. Effect of Coatings and Incidence Angle 

As seen by comparing Strikes 39b and 14, the Ni coating decreased the resulting crater diameter for impacts near 

3 J; Table 2 shows that even though the kinetic energy of Strike 39b (Ni coated) was higher than in Strike 14 (asreceived) the resulting crater was larger in the as-received plate. While compensating for kinetic energy (using 

KE0.3556 from Eq. (1) we would expect the crater diameter in Strike 14 to be about 7% smaller than the crater 

produced in Strike 39b; but the crater in Strike 14 was actually about 7% larger compared to Strike 39b. This is 

believed to be due to the electroless nickel coating present on the Strike 39b target, which changed the surface 

properties (e.g., increased surface strength) compared to the as-received surface used in Strike 14. Anodizing 

appears to similarly change the surface, resulting in smaller craters compared to as-received aluminum; as shown by 

comparing Strike 14 (as-received) to Strike 13 (anodized). Based on kinetic energy, it is expected that the crater of 

Strike 13 should be about 30% larger than in Strike 14, but it was only about 18% larger. It is believed that this is 

due to the harder anodized surface compared to as-received 6061 T651 aluminum. Any influences of such nickel 

coatings or anodizing are expected to decline as the energy of impact increases, as indicated by Strikes 23 (asreceived) and 19 (anodized), which had similar kinetic energies, near 180 J, and crater sizes. 

The tempered effects of incidence angle can be seen by comparing Strike 39b, which came in normal to the 

target’s surface, to Strike 40, which had an incidence angle of 45°. The crater from Strike 39b (normal) was 24% 

larger than the crater from Strike 40 (45°); but the speed based kinetic energy of Strike 39b was 24% larger as well. 

Since Df is proportional to KE0.3556 this 24% increase in kinetic energy is expected to increase crater size by about 

8%, thus the difference in crater size between Strikes 39b and 40 cannot be accounted for on the basis of speed 

based kinetic energy alone. If we consider kinetic energy on the basis of projectile velocity normal to the target 

surface, the energy of Strike 40 would be lowered to 1.31 J; the use of this kinetic energy over compensates and 

would result in a crater about 38% smaller than the Strike 39b crater. The surface diameter of craters in aluminum 

appears to be influenced by incidence angle but to a lesser extent than would be predicted by use of the velocity 

component normal to the surface. 

2. Crown Height 

Strike 23 provides an example of some of the complexities of seal failure. There is a peak in the crown height 

near 180 J (Strike 19) for impacts such as these into aluminum; at this kinetic energy, the crater’s crown is most full 

and intact and causes the leakage failure for this particular Esterline seal. At energies greater than 180 J the crown 

height declined; parts of the crown appeared to get blown 

off and the seal did not fail (Strike 23). As kinetic energy 

is raised further, the crater diameter increases and causes 

failure, as seen in Strike 11. In our analysis of the 

Esterline seal, we assume all impacts equal to or greater 

than 180 J cause seal failure. Note also that the Parker seal 

did not fail when placed over the crater produced in Strike 

39b, even though it did fail over the crater of Strike 14, 

which was less energetic than Strike 39b. This might be 

due in part to the nickel coating on the target of Strike 

39b; the target in Strike 14 was as received thus was not 

nickel coated or anodized. 

3. Impact Location and Leakage 

Figure 11 shows several leakage tests of a 10 cm 

diameter Parker Gask-O-Seal (Fig. 2) placed over the 

crater made in Strike 14 (Table 2). This simulates impacts 

on the metal flange on ISS or Altair at different locations 

near where the center-line of the seal would land during 

docking. Note that leakage was significant only when the 

crater was at the seal’s center-line. Also shown in Fig. 11 

is an illustration showing the position of the elastomer 

inner diameter (ID) relative to the crater helping define 

“c-c”. Figure 12 shows the leakage results for an 

undamaged Esterline seal placed over the crater resulting 

from Strike 11 (Table 2). For this case shown in Fig. 12, 

for the Esterline seal to fail from an impact of this kinetic 

 

Figure 11. Leakage tests with a Parker Gask-OSeal placed at different locations over Strike 14 

crater. Schematic above the graph shows the 

crater closer to the inner diameter, ID, on the left 

for negative c-c, and the crater closer to the OD 

on the right, for positive c-c. The ID is the high 

pressure side. Dashed line is the maximum 

leakage allowed failure criteria of 0.001 kg 

air/day.

1.E-06

1.E-05

1.E-04

1.E-03

1.E-02

1.E-01

1.E+00

-0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4

Leakage, kg air/day

Crater to Seal-Center, c-c, mm
NASA/TM—2009-215836 13 

energy on the flange, the impact must hit the flange 

within about 0.8 mm of where the center-line of the seal 

will sit during docking. Sets of leakage tests like these 

were done for all of the impacts done on aluminum 

targets and were used to make the pass/fail judgments 

based on leakage noted in Table 2, which enabled 

estimates of failure criteria for the seals being tested. 

Table 2 lists the ratio of the average crater diameter, Df,

and the width of the seal, wbulb, in percent, and shows that 

the Parker seals fail when the crater in the flange material 

is greater than 85% of the width of the seal; or >90% for 

Esterline. 

E. Elastomer Seal Targets 

1. Impact Location and Seal Damage 

Consideration of crater size as a function of kinetic 

energy is more complicated when considering the 

elastomer seals compared to the semi-infinite flange 

materials because the level of damage done to the seal is 

dependent on where on the seal the projectile strikes. If 

the particle misses the seal bead, no damage is done. If 

the particle hits the seal bead near an edge, close to the 

inner or outer side-wall, the high pressure that develops 

on impact is relieved due to the hit’s close proximity to 

the side-wall. An example of this is provided by Strikes 6 

and 6b (Table 3). Strike 6 hit near the side wall, about 

1mm from the seal’s center-line, caused a crater 1.4 mm 

wide, and did not cause a failure. Strike 6b had the same 

kinetic energy but hit near the seal’s center-line (c-c = 

0.167 mm), created a crater 3.3 mm wide, and caused a 

seal failure. Figure 13 compares images of these two 

impacts. Figure 14 shows the crater diameter of several 

hits of approximately the same kinetic energy (2.9 ± 

0.2 J), where on the Parker seal they hit, and how damage 

decreases at hit locations away from the seal’s centerline 

of c-c = 0. This facet of how seal damage is dependent on 

impact location is not integrated into our power law 

relations presented below. The conservative approach of 

assuming the maximum level of damage (the damage 

incurred in impacts near the seal’s center-line) was 

employed when developing crater diameter as a function 

of projectile kinetic energy relations. 

Tables 3 and 4 provide ratios of measured seal crater 

diameter to bulb width in terms of percentages for both 

Parker and Esterline compounds. Comparing the percent 

damage levels and corresponding leakage levels, one can 

see for crater diameters less than 84% of the bulb width, 

the seals exhibited very low leakage. 

2. Effect of Low Temperature and Incidence Angle on 

Seal Damage 

Due to concern that damage from a hypervelocity impact in space might increase at low temperatures, a small, 

targeted group of impacts were done at –78 °C, which is the lowest temperature expected for the LIDS seals during 

missions. Strikes 8c and 38b in Table 4 provide a good comparison of how Esterline’s compound responds to low 

temperature, since these two impacts were nearly identical except for temperature. As shown by the crater diameters 

in Table 4, and in Fig. 15, the level of secondary damage and radial cracking was less at the lower temperature. By 

comparing Strikes 17 and 35d we see that damage was similarly less at the lower temperature for the Parker 

Figure 12. Leakage tests with an Esterline seal 

place at different locations over the crater resulting 

from Strike 11. Dashed line is the maximum 

leakage allowed failure criteria of 0.001 kg air/day. 

1.E-07

1.E-06

1.E-05

1.E-04

1.E-03

1.E-02

1.E-01

-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4

Leakage, kg air/day

Crater to Seal-Center, c-c, mm

 a) b) 

Figure 13. Effect of Strike Location on Seal 

Damage. Parker 2.5 mm seal hit near the side wall 

in a) Strike 6; and hit near the seal’s center-line in 

b) Strike 6b. Both hits with aluminum projectiles 

of 10.7 J kinetic energy. 

Figure 14. Crater Size vs. Hit Location. Parker 

Strikes 9, 17, 31, 35c and 35d all with kinetic 

energy near 2.9 J. 

0.6

1

1.4

1.8

2.2

-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5

Ave. Crater diameter, mm

c-c, Distance between crater and seal 

centerline, mm
NASA/TM—2009-215836 14 

elastomer (see Table 3 and Fig. 15). However, the vaporized portion of the elastomer, dv, was not significantly 

affected. An estimate of the level of damage at the two temperatures (room temperature and –78 °C) independent of 

kinetic energy can be made by dividing the crater diameter for a particular test by the kinetic energy raised to the 

appropriate power provided in Eq. (2) or (3). This was done for room temperature Strikes 8c, 9, and 17 and low 

temperature Strikes 35c, 35d, and 38b which are shown in Fig. 16. Average crater diameters at low temperatures 

were about 25% smaller than craters of similar kinetic energy made at room temperature. 

Although the number of tests was very limited, projectile incidence angles of 0° and 45° away from normal to 

the target appeared to produce similar levels of damage in the Parker elastomer. Strikes 9 and 17 were at 0° (normal) 

and 45° respectively, had similar kinetic energies based on speed, and resulted in similar levels of damage. 

 

Figure 16. Average Seal Crater Diameter at Different Target Temperatures. Dseal is divided by kinetic 

energy raised to the “a” power, where a is the exponent from Eq. (2) for Parker, and Eq. (3) for Esterline. 

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

23 Deg C, Strikes 9, 17 and 8c -78 Deg C Strikes 35c, 35d, and 38b

Dseal / (KE)a

 (a) Strike 8c, T = 20 °C (b) Strike 38d, T = –78 °C (c) Strike 17, T=20 °C (d)Strike 35d, T= –78 °C 

Figure 15. Effect of Low Temperature on Hypervelocity Impact Damage in Elastomers. Radial cracking

and secondary damage was less at the lower temperature for hits of similar kinetic energy; dv was not

significantly affected. (a) and (b) 9.1 mm wide Esterline seals, (c) and (d) 2.5 mm wide Parker seals. 
NASA/TM—2009-215836 15 

1. Seal Average Crater Diameter and Kinetic Energy Power Law Relations 

To facilitate seal design sensitivity to various particle kinetic energy hits, equations are needed relating seal 

damage to kinetic energy. Results from tests at low temperatures and hits near seal side walls were omitted when 

considering crater size as a function of projectile kinetic energy. Impacts further than 26% of the seal width from the 

seal center-line were not included in the following generation of crater diameter versus kinetic energy relations. 

Table 3 shows the tests included in Fig. 17, shaded gray, and used to determine the power law function for the 

Parker elastomer:

 Dseal =1.491KE0.3623 (2) 

The leakage data in Table 3 indicate that the minimum kinetic energy required to cause a seal failure is about 

2.6 J for the 2.5 mm wide Parker seal. The KEcrit value for Esterline seal failure distilled from Table 4 is 60 J. 

The shaded gray data in Table 4 are presented in Fig. 18 which shows the power law function found for the 

Esterline elastomer: 

 Dseal = 1.344KE0.3832 (3) 

Similar power law relations between crater diameter and kinetic energy were presented in Ref. 10, though some 

of the constants and exponents are slightly different due to current changes in the particle diameters used for the 

glass projectiles. These exponents can be expected to change slightly as additional data becomes available. 

The filled triangles in Fig. 18 are results from impacts using Nylon66 projectiles and show the limits of using 

kinetic energy in relation to average crater diameter, Dseal. Kinetic energy might relate well to aspects of 

hypervelocity impact damage, such as depth of penetration, however, we are interested in how the damage interacts 

with the LIDS seal, thus need to solve for damage aspects near the surface of the target because it is these surface 

aspects, like surface crater diameter, which cause seal failure. Particles of relatively low density yield larger than 

expected crater diameters when considering kinetic energy only because the volume of the low desity particle is 

relatively large, thus it has a larger footprint when landing on the target, thereby causing a larger crater at the 

surface. This is shown in Fig. 19 which compares the craters made in Strike 1, made by an aluminum projectile, to 

Strike 18, which was made by a Nylon66 projectile. Based on Eq. (3) one would expect the higher kinetic energy of 

Strike 18 to result in a crater about 8% larger than the Strike 1 crater. However, the low density Strike18 case 

Figure 18. Average Crater Diameter in Esterline 

ELA-SA-401 from Projectiles of Different Kinetic 

Energy. Hits more than 25% of the seal width away 

from the center-line, and at low temperatures 

omitted. Data shown in gray in Table 4. Filled 

triangles indicate Nylon projectiles. 

Dseal = 1.344(KE)0.3832

R2 = 0.8956

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

0 50 100 150 200 250

Ave. Crater dia., Dseal, mm

Kinetic Energy, J

Figure 17. Average Crater Surface Diameter in 

Parker 0S383-70 from Projectiles of Different Kinetic 

Energy. Hits more than 25% of the seal width away 

from the center-line, and hits at low temperatures 

omitted. Data included is shown in gray in Table 3. 

Dseal = 1.4912(KE)0.3623

R2 = 0.9695

0

1

2

3

4

5

0 4 8 12 16 20

Ave. Crater dia., Dseal, mm

Kinetic Energy, J
NASA/TM—2009-215836 16 

resulted in a crater about 30% larger. Figure 19 also shows that the Nylon66 projectile of Strike 16 made a larger 

crater than the aluminum projectile of Strike 10 even though Strike 16 had slightly lower kinetic energy. 

If we consider Eq. (1) for aluminum targets, and substitue KE = mV2

/2 = πd3V2ρp/12, we get: 

 Df = 1.3(πd3

V2ρp/12)0.3556 = 0.807(d1.067V 

0.71ρp

 0.3556) (4) 

and from Eq. (2) for the Parker elastomer we get: 

Dseal = 0.9176(d1.087V0.7246ρp

0.3623) (5) 

These powers of d, V, and ρp are frequently seen in the literature and are a direct result of the assumption that kinetic 

energy controls the level of damage to the target. The units of Df, d, V, and ρp in Eq. (4) are mm, m, m/s, and kg/m3

respectively. Kinetic energy is an excellent starting point when building relations between projectiles and resulting 

damage, however, we believe improvements can be made in assessing the surface diameter of craters by emperically 

tuning the exponents of d, V, and ρp. We are currently engaged in aquiring additional data to fine tune these 

exponents for aluminum targets. 

We can also estimate crater diameter using Cour-Palais depth of penetration relations and the approximation that 

the crater diameter is double the crater’s depth:33 

Df|C-P = 2 × 5.24H–0.25d19/18(ρp/ρt)

0.5(Vn/C)2/3

where Df|C-P is in cm, H is the Brinell hardness of the 

target, Vn is projectile velocity normal to the target, C is 

the speed of sound in the target, and projectile diameter 

d is in units of cm. A direct comparison of Eq. (4) and 

the Cour-Palais depth of penetration relation is 

illustrated graphically in Figure 20 for a 6061 T6 

aluminum target, and 0.1 cm 2017 T4 aluminum 

projectile. In the velocity range of 7 to 10 km/s, the 

difference between the current work and Cour-Palais’ 

relation is about 29%. This difference is due in part to 

differences in how the crater diameters are defined.23,34

About half of the difference between the Cour-Palais 

relation and Eq. (4) is due to differences in how the 

crater diameters are defined. Equation (4) yields the 

average between the crater’s dfi and dfo, while the CourPalais relation yields a diameter more characteristic of 

the crater’s inner diameter.23,33,34

Figure 20. Comparison of the Cour-Palais and 

de Groh’s Eq. (4). Comparison employs 6061 T6 

target, and 2017 T4 0.1 cm diameter aluminum 

projectile. 

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

0 5 10 15 20

Crater diameter, mm

Velocity, km/s

de Groh

Cour-Palais

 Strike 1, 25.8 J Strike 18, 31.7 J Strike 10, 62.2 J Strike 16, 60.7 J 

 

 ρ = 2.79 g/cm3

 ρ = 1.14 g/cm3 ρ = 2.5 g/cm3 ρ = 1.14 g/cm3 

Figure 19. Craters in 9.1 mm wide Esterline seals from projectiles of high and low density. Craters from low 

density projectiles are larger than those made by higher density projectiles of similar kinetic energy. 
NASA/TM—2009-215836 17 

IV. Summary and Conclusions 

NASA is developing a new Low Impact Docking System (LIDS) to dock future vehicles within the Constellation 

program. During select portions of the Crew Exploration Vehicle’s mission, the LIDS system will be exposed to 

space environments including threats of impact from Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD) particles. Even 

though most of these particles are very small (generally less than 1 mm in diameter), the high speed of these 

particles can result in significant damage to either the elastomer seal or metal flange which mates with the seal. The 

objective of this work is to quantify MMOD damage to silicone rubber seals and the metal surfaces these seals mate 

to, and determine how this damage affects seal performance. Impacts from the MMOD environment were simulated 

using ground based hypervelocity impacts. This paper presents our results of ground based hypervelocity impacts on 

silicone rubber seals and aluminum sheet plates along with leakage testing of damaged seals and plates. This study 

examines damage effects as a function of several key variables including: particle density (1.14, 2.5, 2.79, and 

7.7 g/cm3

), particle speed (5.6 km/s and 8 km/s), incident angle (0°, 45°, 60° from normal to the plane of the target), 

elastomer target material (Parker S0383-70, Esterline ELA-SA-401), aluminum flange treatment (bare, elastomer 

laminated, anodized, electroless nickel coated). Several measures of the damage were made including the physical 

damage to either the elastomer material or the simulated flange. Leakage measurements were also performed to 

determine the threshold level of damage in either the elastomer or the metal flange above which the seal system 

would exceed the target leakage limit. Findings from this effort are supporting other efforts by DeGroh10 to develop 

an analytical methodology to predict MMOD damage for various mission scenarios and to aid seal design efforts. 

The following observations were made: 

• Elastomer materials were able to seal surprisingly well after damage. Elastomers were able to seal with crater 

width less than 84% of their bulb width. Undamaged elastomer rings were also effective sealing against 

damaged flange materials. Elastomers were able to seal against aluminum flange craters whose diameters 

were 80% to 90% of the of the seal bulb width. 

• There was a strong relation between seal bulb hit location and damage. Particles hitting near the bulb centerline caused greater damage than those hitting near the bulb edge. 

• Power law equations were developed relating damage to either the flange or elastomer materials to particle 

kinetic energy. Though these relations provide reasonable correlation of the data, we observed that the lessdense (e.g., nylon) particles tended to cause greater damage to the elastomer materials per unit kinetic energy 

than the denser metal and glass particles. 

• Elastomers exhibited less secondary damage and less cracking when cold (–78 °C) but exhibited 

approximately the same level of dv damage in the vaporized core of the crater when compared to specimens 

impacted at room temperature. 

V. Future Work 

This report describes the results of early phases of the MMOD investigations. Other areas requiring additional 

work include the following. Additional study is warranted on the effects of lower-density particles on elastomer 

damage. Additional testing will determine if the power law relations require additional fine-tuning to predict 

elastomer damage. Work is required to examine effects of high temperature on resulting seal damage, and to assess 

if molded seal cross-sections behave any differently than rings tested herein. 

References 1

Hastings, D., and Garrett, H., Spacecraft-Environment Interactions, Cambridge Univ. Press, New York, 1996, pp. 82–95. 2

Eckart, P., et al., The Lunar Base Handbook, McGraw-Hill, 1999, pp. 148, 538. 3

Cour-Palais, B.G. “Meteoroid Environmental Model-1969 (Near Earth to Lunar Surface), Technical Report NASA SP–

8013, NASA, 1969. 4

NASA, “Constellation Program Design Specifications for Natural Environments,” CxP 70023 Revision A, 2008, pp. 73. 5

 “An Unprecedented Space Collision” Gina Sunseri and Luis Martinez, ABC News, Feb. 12, 2009, 

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Space/story?id=6859247&page=1 6 “China Confirms Satellite-killing test” Associated Press, msnbc Jan. 23, 2007, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16757285/ 7 Lewis, J. L., Carroll; M. B., Morales; R. H., Le; T. D., National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC, 

“Androgynous, reconfigurable closed loop feedback controlled low impact docking system with load sensing electromagnet 

capture system,” U.S. Patent No. 6354540, (2002). 8de Groh, K.K., Banks, B.A., and Smith, D.C., “Environmental Durability Issues for Solar Power Systems in Low Earth 

Orbit,” NASA-TM-106775, 1995. 
NASA/TM—2009-215836 18 

9

Daniels, C. C., de Groh III, H. C., Dunlap Jr., et. al., “Characteristics of Elastomer Seals Exposed to Space Environments,” 

43rd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conf., AIAA–2007–5741, p. 1–16. 

10de Groh III, H. C., Gallo, C.A., and Nahra, N.K., “Meteoroid and Orbital Debris Threats to NASA’s Docking Seals: Initial 

Assessment and Methodology,” AIAA-2009-3524, AIAA paper accepted for publication with the proceedings of the 1st AIAA 

Atmospheric and Space Environments Conference, San Antonio TX, June 2009. 11Coppinger, R., “Congress to Direct NASA to Agree to Common Docking System?” Flightglobal/Blogs, May 20, 2008, 

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/hyperbola/2008/05/congress-to-direct-common-dock.html 12Finkbeiner, J. R., Dunlap Jr., P. H., Steinetz, B. M., Daniels, C. C., “Review of Seal Designs on Apollo Spacecraft,” J. of 

Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 45, No. 5, Sept-Oct, 2008; also available as NASA/TM—2006-214372 and AIAA–2006–5259. 13Williamsen, J. “Review of Space Shuttle Meteoroid/Orbital Debris Critical Risk Assessment Practices,”45th

AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics& Materials Conference, AIAA–2004–1876. 14Coombs, C. R. et al., “Environment Modeling in Near-Earth Space: Preliminary LDEF Results,” LPSC XXIII, Lunar and 

Planetary Inst., 1992, pp. 247–248. 15Kessler, D. J., Reynolds, R. C., and Anz-Meador, P. D., “Orbital Debris Environment for Spacecraft Designed to Operate in 

Low Earth Orbit,” NASA TM–1000471, 1988. 16 Cour-Palais, B. G., “Hypervelocity impact in metals, glass, and composites,” Int. J. Impact Engng. Vol. 5, 1987, 

pp. 221–237. 17Christiansen, E. L., “Shield Sizing Equations,” Technical Memorandum to Distribution, SN3–90–131, Oct. 1990. 18Evens, S., et al., “Bounding the risk of crew loss following orbital debris penetration of the International Space Station at 

assemble stages 1J and 1E,” Advances in Space Res., Vol. 34, 2003, pp. 1104–1108. 19Lambert, M., “Hypervelocity impacts and damage laws,” Adv. Space Res., Vol. 19, No. 2, 1997, pp. 369–378. 20Herrmann, W., Wilbeck, J. S., “Review of hypervelocity penetration theories,” Int. J. Impact Engng., Vol. 5, 1987, 

pp. 307–322. 21Shanbing, Y., Gengchen, S., Qingming, T., “Experimental laws of cratering for hypervelocity impacts of spherical 

projectiles into thick target,” Int. J. Impact Engng. Vol. 15, No. 1, 1994, pp. 67-77 22Watts, A. J., and Atkinson, D., “Dimensional scaling for impact cratering and perforation,” Int. J. Impact Engng. Vol. 17, 

1995, pp. 925-935. 23Horz, F., et al. “Penetration experiments in aluminum 1100 targets using soda-lime glass projectiles,” NASA TM–104813, 

June 1995. 24Christiansen, E. L. “Design and Performance Equations for Advanced Meteoroid and Debris Shields,” Int. J. Impact 

Engng., 14, 1993, pp. 145–156. 25Watts A. J., and Atkinson, D., “Dimensional scaling for impact cratering and perforation,” Int. J. Impact Engng. Vol. 17, 

1995, pp. 925–935, also appearing in NCR–188259, Johnson Space Center, March 1993. 26 Quasius, B., Pantermuehl, J., “LIDS Seals Design Temperature,” Coordination Memo, Jan. 28. 2009. 27Anderson, J. C., Henderson, D. J., and Rodriguez, K. M., “.17-caliber Light Gas Gun Velocity Measurement Uncertainty 

Analysis,” WSTF-IR-1086-001-07, 2007. 

28de Groh III, H. C., et al., “Adhesion of Silicone Elastomer Seals for NASA’s Crew Exploration Vehicle,” NASA/TM—

2008-215433, 2008. 29Miller, S. W., unpublished work “Orion Project NASA LIDS Thermal Analysis,” Nov. 9, 2007. 30Natural Environments Branch, “Constellation Program Design Specification for Natural Environments” CxP 00102, Draft 

4R, Dec. 19, 2005, EV13 Spacecraft and Vehicle Systems Dept., Marshall Space Flight Center, pp. 50–53. 31Natural Environments Branch, “Constellation Program Design Specification for Natural Environments” CxP 70023, 

Revision A, Feb. 6, 2008, EV13 Spacecraft and Vehicle Systems Dept., Marshall Space Flight Center, pp. 73–76. 32de Groh III, H. C., Daniels, C., Dunlap, P., and Steinetz, B., “Assessing MMOD Impacts on Seal Performance,” 

NASA/CP—2008-215263/Vol2, pp. 143–165. 33Christiansen, E., “Meteoroid/Debris Shielding,” NASA/TP—2003-210788, 2003, p. 30. 34Denardo, P., Summers, J. L., and Nysmith, C. R., “Projectile Size Effects on Hypervelocity Impact Craters in Aluminum,” 

NASA TN D–4067, 1967, p. 4. 
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Effects of Hypervelocity Impacts on Silicone Elastomer Seals and Mating Aluminum 

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13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

14. ABSTRACT

While in space silicone based elastomer seals planned for use on NASA’s Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) are exposed to threats from 

micrometeoroids and orbital debris (MMOD). An understanding of these threats is required to assess risks to the crew, the CEV orbiter, and 

missions. An Earth based campaign of hypervelocity impacts on small scale seal rings has been done to help estimate MMOD threats to the 

primary docking seal being developed for the Low Impact Docking System (LIDS). LIDS is being developed to enable the CEV to dock to 

the ISS (International Space Station) or to Altair (NASA’s next lunar lander). The silicone seal on LIDS seals against aluminum alloy 

flanges on ISS or Altair. Since the integrity of a seal depends on both sealing surfaces, aluminum targets were also impacted. The variables 

considered in this study included projectile mass, density, speed, incidence angle, seal materials, and target surface treatments and coatings. 

Most of the impacts used a velocity near 8 km/s and spherical aluminum projectiles (density = 2.7 g/cm3), however, a few tests were done 

near 5.6 km/s. Tests were also performed using projectile densities of 7.7, 2.79, 2.5 or 1.14 g/ cm3. Projectile incidence angles examined 

included 0°, 45°, and 60° from normal to the plane of the target. Elastomer compounds impacted include Parker’s S0383-70 and Esterline’s 

ELA-SA-401 in the as received condition, or after an atomic oxygen treatment. Bare, anodized and nickel coated aluminum targets were 

tested simulating the candidate mating seal surface materials. After impact, seals and aluminum plates were leak tested: damaged seals were 

tested against an undamaged aluminum plate; and undamaged seals were placed at various locations over craters in aluminum plates. It has 

been shown that silicone elastomer seals can withstand an impressive level of damage before leaking beyond allowable limits. In general on 

the tests performed to date, the diameter of the crater in either the elastomer, or the aluminum, must be at least as big as 80% to 90% of 

width of the bulb of the seal before significant leakage occurs. 

15. SUBJECT TERMS

Craters; Projectiles; Kinetic energy; Elastomers; Aluminum; Leakage; Damage; Meteoroids; Space debris; Docking; Low Earth orbit; 

Silicon rubber; Hypervelocity impact; Micrometeoroids; Nylon 

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