Experimental and numerical simulations of orbital debris impact on a simple Whipple bumper shield

Conference · Mon Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:5155290

Chhabildas, L C; Hertel, E S ^[1]; Hill, S A ^[2]

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1. Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
2. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Huntsville, AL (United States). George C. Marshall Space Flight Center

A series of experiments has been performed on the Sandia HyperVelocity Launcher (HVL) to evaluate the effectiveness of thin Whipple bumper shield at impact velocities up to 10.4 km/s by orbital space debris. Upon impact by a 0.67 gm (0.87 mm thick) flier plate, the thin aluminum bumper shield completely disintegrates into a debris cloud. The debris cloud front propagates axially at velocities of {approximately}14 km/s and expands radially at a velocity of {approximately}7 km/s. Subsequent loading on a 3.2 mm thick aluminum substructure by the debris penetrates the substructure completely. Numerical simulations performed using the multi-dimensional hydrodynamics code CTH also predict complete penetration of the substructure by the subsequent debris cloud. 7 refs., 4 figs.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 5155290
• Report Number(s): SAND-91-0889C; CONF-9107182--1; ON: DE92000988
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
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42 ENGINEERING
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ELEMENTS
FLUID MECHANICS
HYDRODYNAMICS
IMPACT TESTS
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