Simulation of Characteristics of Debris Cloud Produced by Hypervelocity Impact

Abstract

All spacecraft in low orbit are subject to hypervelocity impacts by meteoroids and space debris. These impacts can damage spacecraft flight-critical systems, which can in turn lead to catastrophic failure of the spacecraft. The numerical simulations of characteristics of debris cloud produced by an aluminum sphere projectile hypervelocity impact on different material bumpers at normal incidence have been carried out by using the SPH (smoothed particle hydrodynamics) technique. The effects of impact velocity, the ratio t/d of the bumper thickness to the projectile diameter and the bumper materials on the debris cloud characteristics are presented.