Numerical simulation of oblique impact on orbital debris shielding

Abstract

Hybrid particle-finite element methods have been proposed as a modeling methodology well suited to the problem of hypervelocity impact simulation. To evaluate the use of such numerical methods for orbital debris shielding design, a series of simulations have been conducted using a three dimensional hybrid particle-finite element code now under development. Two sets of oblique impact simulations, one for a single bumper Whipple shield and one for a dual bumper or stuffed Whipple shield, have been compared to published ballistic limit equations, the latter derived from experiment. The results indicate that hybrid particlefinite element methods can provide an accurate and computationally tractable approach to the simulation of orbital debris shield performance.