BPSC 2024, 18th - 21st June 2024, Space Park Leicester
From the 18th – 21st June 2024, postgraduate research studen Ethan Finch along with Dr. Jon Tandy attended the British Planetary Science Conference hosted by Space Park Leicester. BPSC is a UK-based conference bringing together almost 200 researchers from all parts of the planetary science community. Ethan presented a poster discussing recent tests to 3D-print projectiles for use within the light-gas gun at the Univeristy of Kent whilst Jon presented work characterising the current range of planetary simulant materials available and how their differences may impact the results of investigations they are utilised in.
The poster gave an overview of the method developed undertaken for the 3D-printing and model testing to ensure their usability for impact experiements within the gun. The projectile design allows for the use of custom projectiles within the Kent light-gas gun rather than being limited to spherical projectiles. Further, the 3D-printed shells allow for relatively large projectiles to be fired within the Kent gun (up to 5.56 mm diameter), whereas previously projectile diameter was limited to 3 mm for a split sabot projectile. This new method of projectile construction allows for more flexability within impact experiments and the use of a wider range of relevent projectile materials.