Numerical simulation of space debris impacts on the Whipple shield

Abstract

The authors carried out three series of experimental tests of the first bumper perforation and main wall cratering processes directly caused by three types of projectiles with about 2, 4 and 7 km s −1 impact velocities but comparable initial kinetic energies, by using three different accelerators (one-stage powder gun, two-stage light-gas gun and rail gun), for the purpose of investigating space debris hypervelocity impacts onto single-walled Whipple bumper shields [1]. In the present study, after reviewing the numerical simulation method of hydrocode for both Eulerian and Lagrangian descriptions, a number of parametric numerical simulation analyses using multiple material Eulerian methods were performed in order to optimize the material properties of bumper and main wall materials through comparison with experimental results of single target impacts by the projectiles. In particular, the material data on the dynamic fracture phenomena are discussed in detail in the first part. Then a couple of numerical calculations using the interactive Lagrangian rezoning method to simulate the overall impact process against the single walled Whipple shield were performed and compared with the corresponding experimental results. Both results indicated fairly good agreement with each other. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the present method is helpful and efficient in understanding the impact phenomena and fracture mechanism in the space debris hypervelocity impact problem. Finally the multiple material Eulerian method was applied to the same problems modeled by the interactive Lagrangian rezoning method used previously, because the former is much easier to use for almost all users, although it is more diffusive and unclear of material boundaries than the latter. Those two kinds of numerical results also indicated fairly good agreements with each other.