Experimental and Theoretical Study of Space Debris Impacts on Shielded Targets

A comprehensive study is reported on high- and hypervelocity impacts of a steel ball simulating a space debris particle on shielded targets. Experimental studies of high-velocity impact of a steel ball were performed in the velocity range up to 2500 m/s. The obtained data were used to verify the mathematical model and numerical algorithm. Numerical simulation of the space debris impact on a shielded target was carried out in the impact velocity range 1400–7000 m/s using the finite element method implemented in the original EFES software package. The proposed failure algorithm can describe the material fragmentation and the formation of new contact boundaries without computational mesh distortion. The specific features of shock wave processes and the destruction of the target and ball were investigated at different impact velocities.