Abstract
An experimental study has been conducted to investigate the importance of bumper materials upon the performance of two-component hypervelocity impact shields. Sixteen different bumper materials were investigated ranging in densities from 0.85 to 16.6 g/cm. Several bumper materials were found that were equally effective on a mass per unit area basis. Bumper material effectiveness dropped rapidly with bumper material density when this density was below 2 g/cm. An optimum bumper thickness exists for minimizing total shield weight for each bumper material investigated. The results in this study can be explained by an analysis of the states of the impacting pellet and bumper material within the debris cloud projected behind impacted bumpers. One-dimensional plate impact theory is used to predict the physical state of the cloud material. No other parameters but those controlling cloud material state had discernible effects upon two-component shield operation.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
