Short time molecular dynamics simulations were performed to model C 60 and Au 3 bombardment of an amorphous water sample in the projectile energy range of 5–120 keV. A previously proposed friction model has been applied to describe the fundamental motion of a projectile during cluster bombardment of a solid. This simple analytical model uses a definition of friction on a single particle to describe the cluster movement through a medium. Although the mathematics of the friction model vary among systems, the projectile motion and energy deposition of a single particle into the sample as well as the reactive environment created is close to that of C 60 bombardment.