Numerical simulation of oblique impact on orbital debris shielding

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 particle-finite element methods can provide an accurate and computationally tractable approach to the simulation of orbital debris shield performance. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.