Oblique hypervelocity impact simulation for whipple shield-protected structures

Three dimensional simulation of hypervelocity impacts on space structures places extreme demands on even supercomputer resources. This is due in large part to the fact that conventional Eulerian and Lagrangian codes are ill-suited to model debris cloud evolution. To reduce the computer time and memory requirements of oblique impact simulations, a three-dimensional elastic-plastic particle dynamics model of debris cloud evolution has been developed. This numerical model has been linked to an Eulerian hydrocode and a Lagrangian structural code, and applied in the simulation of oblique hypervelocity impacts on Whipple shield-protected structures.