An Improved Vibration Multi Mode-Based Technique for the Characterization of Metallic Adhesion Impulses

Adhesion impulses generated at the separation of metallic surfaces significantly impact the functionality and performance of launch-lock and release space mechanisms. The testing concept adopted here consists of a suspended plate set into contact with an end-effector, which is retracted to simulate an in-flight release. At the retraction, the bonds are stretched up to failure, transferring an impulse to the plate. The proposed technique focuses on plate-free vibration: if at least two amplitudes of the excited vibration modes are measured, it is possible to estimate the impulse intensity and duration. This technique is developed by exploiting the plate multimode response with redundant outputs to the same dynamic input to characterize adhesion dynamics with improved measurement performance.