The crater formation due to segmented rod penetrators

The efficiency of segmented rods penetrating into semi-infinite steel targets was investigated numerically by hydrocode simulations with impact velocities varying between 2000 and 5000 m/s.

In a second phase segmented elements were integrated in experimental projectiles and these projectiles were accelerated by means of a powder gun to verify the launchability of such projectiles and to confirm the results of the numerical simulations.

As predicted by the numerical simulations, we observe an increase of the penetration depth in the order of 10% with a 4 segments spaced projectile, in the case of an impact velocity of 2100 m/s.     

Highy oblique impacts into thick and thin targets

Hypervelocity impact (HVI) tests have been conducted at the JSC Hypervelocity Impact Test Facility (HIT-F) with aluminum projectiles impacting semi-infinite (thick) and thin aluminum plates (with plate thickness to projectile diameter ratios of 6.4 and 0.14, respectively) at impact angles ranging from normal to the plate (0°) to highly oblique (88°). The targets were impacted by solid homogeneous aluminum spheres from 1 mm to 3.6 mm diameter. Results of the HVI tests were not unusual up to 65°, where impact damage is characterized as smooth craters and holes that become progressively elliptical and distended along the projectile flight path. Above 65° angles, however, a transition occurs to an irregularly shaped hole in thin materials and rough bottomed crater in thick targets. Above 80°, multiple damage sites in the targets were formed with the damage areas separated by variable distances of undamaged target surface. Analytical and numerical simulations of the impact process at oblique angles above 65° demonstrates that shock compression and release of the projectile into multiple fragments occurs before the projectile fully engages the target. The resulting projectile fragments are then responsible for the multiple impact sites observed on the targets.     

RCS-based ballistic limit curves for non-spherical projectiles impacting dual-wall spacecraft systems

Ballistic limit curves (BLCs) for dual- or multi-wall spacecraft wall systems impacted by spherical projectiles exist for a variety of impact conditions. However, meteoroids and orbital debris particles can take any shape, and non-spherical projectiles can be more damaging than equal mass spherical projectiles under the same impact conditions. In a recent study, a series of BLCs for a typical dual-wall configuration impacted by a variety of non-spherical projectiles were developed and presented in terms of equivalent spherical projectile diameter as a function of impact velocity. In order to be more consistent with debris environment predictions and to be useful for spacecraft design, such BLCs need to be drawn in units that are consistent with environment flux models used in that design process. In this paper, we have recast the equivalent spherical projectile diameter BLCs and now present them using radar cross-section (RCS) diameter as the characteristic length parameter. The recast BLCs are seen to be more tightly grouped and are not as spread out as they were when plotted using equivalent spherical projectile diameter. Thus, the effect of projectile shape on penetrating ability is shown to be somewhat reduced when considering characteristic length as the size parameter as opposed to an equivalent mass diameter.     

THE PENETRATION OF ASYMMETRIC LONG-ROD PROJECTILES AT 2.6 km/s

The penetration ability of asymmetric long-rod projectiles at 2.6 km/s is investigated in this numerical study. Five different projectile cross sections were considered. Results from the simulations indicate that the penetration velocity of the projectiles is only marginally influenced by the cross-sectional shape of the penetrator; the greatest reductions are seen for the projectiles with the largest area moment of inertias. The largest disparity in total penetration between the different shapes is about 4%. Physical mechanisms leading to these distictions are discussed.     

Hypervelocity impact damage prediction in composites: Part II—experimental investigations and simulations

The extension of damage in composites during hypervelocity impact (HVI) of space debris is controlled by failure thresholds and subsequent energy consumption during damage growth. Characterisation and modelling of the material under partially and fully damaged states is essential for the prediction of HVI effects on fibre-composite structures. Improved experimental and numerical analysis techniques have been developed and are summarised in an accompanying paper. The present paper deals with the establishment of two precise damage experiments under HVI conditions as a validation basis for numerical simulations: The first type consists of space debris impact configurations optimised for damage evaluation and the second experiments reproduce HVI strain rates and compressions in plate impact. Coupling of damage analysis techniques (visual, ultrasonic, residual strength) to quantify different aspects of failure has been achieved. Numerical simulations using the commercial hydrocode AUTODYN in mesh-based and SPH formulations are presented using the material model and data described in the accompanying paper.     

Oblique impact modeling of fuzes

This paper presents the results of a combined experimental, numerical, and analytical investigation of a low-speed (198 m/s) oblique impact of a cylindrical steel projectile into an aluminum-brass composite fuze simulant. The numerical simulations were performed prior to the experiments using the Lagrangian hydrocode EPIC92. The results indicate that projectile hardness and impact point strongly influence the mechanism by which the fuze deforms. An experiment was then conducted in order to evaluate the predictive capabilities of the hydrocode. The experimental results generally corroborate the hydrocode results during the initial stages of the impact but depart significantly at later stages of the penetration. Possible causes for the observed differences between the experiment and the simulation include, (i) the absence of a global fracture modeling capability in the hydrocode, and (ii) boundary condition differences between experiment and simulation. The hydrocode predicts that 91% of the projectile kinetic energy is converted into target plastic work. This result compares well with predictions based upon an analytical model of an elastic-plastic beam bent by an end load.     

Debris fragment characterization in oblique hypervelocity impacts

A case history in debris characterization is presented for oblique impacts of chunky tungsten projectiles against thin plates. The integrated approach of scaled experiments and hydrocode simulations led to a semi-analytic model of behind the plate debris fragment distributions. This debris distribution model agreed quite well with the experimental fragment distributions derived from witness plate measurements. The 1/4 scale test program included three projectile masses, two target geometries (single and dual plates), a velocity range of 4–7 km/s and a strike angle range of 15–55 degrees. Close correlation of measured and predicted fragment distributions encouraged the extension of the model to higher velocities not currently obtainable in the laboratory.

The paper also includes discussions of critical features of debris in oblique hypervelocity impact, the scalability of fragment data, and the utilization of the derived fragment models in semi-analytic damage assessment codes.     

椭球弹丸超高速撞击防护屏碎片云数值模拟

低地球轨道的各类航天器易受到微流星体及空间碎片的超高速撞击.本文采用AUTODYN软件进行了椭球弹丸超高速正撞击及斜撞击防护屏碎片云的数值模拟.给出了三维模拟的结果.研究了在相同质量的条件下,不同长径比椭球弹丸以不同速度和入射角撞击防护屏所产生碎片云的特性,并与球形弹丸撞击所应产生的碎片云特性进行了比较.结果表明:在相同的速度下,不同长径比椭球弹丸撞击的碎片云形状、质量分布和破碎程度是不同的,随撞击入射角的增加弹丸的破碎程度增大,滑弹碎片云的数量增加;随撞击速度的增加,弹丸的破碎程度也增加.     

空化器形状对超空泡射弹尾拍运动影响的数值研究

为研究空化器形状对超空泡射弹尾拍航行时运动特性的影响,基于有限体积法和Mixture多相流模型,结合动网格技术构建了三维自由尾拍运动仿真模型,在两种长径比下比较了平头弹、凹口弹、锥头弹的尾拍运动特性,并分析了其水动力影响因素。结果表明:较小长径比下,平头弹可以保持运动稳定,凹口弹和锥头弹易失稳,主要是由于空化器产生的空泡尺寸差异导致其临界失稳攻角依次降低。较大长径比下,临界失稳攻角消失,三种头型射弹均能保持尾拍稳定,锥头弹在速度较高时以“单侧尾拍”保持稳定,速度降低后以“双侧尾拍”保持稳定,而平头弹和凹口弹始终以“双侧尾拍”保持稳定;锥头弹由于“单侧尾拍”会产生与初始扰动方向相反的垂直位移,而平头弹和凹口弹由于弹头升力产生与初始扰动方向相同的垂直位移。     

Ballistic resistance of double-layered armor plates

In this paper, the ballistic resistance of double-layered steel shields against projectile impact at the sub-ordnance velocity is evaluated using finite element simulations. Four types of projectiles of different weight and nose shapes are considered, while armor shields consist of two layers of different materials. In a previous study of the same authors, it was shown that a double-layered shield of the same metal was able to improve the ballistic limit by 7.0–25.0% under impact by a flat-nose projectile, compared to a monolithic plate of the same weight. Under impact by a conical-nose projectile, a double-layered shield is almost as capable as a monolithic plate. The present paper extends the analysis to double-layered shields with various metallic material combinations. The study reveals that the best configuration is the upper layer of high ductility and low strength material and the lower layer of low ductility and high strength material. This configuration results in some 25% gain in the ballistic limit under moderate detrimental impact. This research helps clarify the long standing issue of the ballistic resistance of the multi-layered armor configuration.     

The effect of target strength on the perforation of steel plates using three different projectile nose shapes

The effect of target strength on the perforation of steel plates is studied. Three structural steels are considered: Weldox 460 E, Weldox 700 E and Weldox 900 E. The effects of strain hardening, strain rate hardening, temperature softening and stress triaxiality on material strength and ductility are determined for these steel alloys by conducting three types of tensile tests: quasi-static tests with smooth and notched specimens, quasi-static tests at elevated temperatures and dynamic tests over a wide range of strain rates. The test data are used to determine material constants for the three different steels in a slightly modified version of the Johnson–Cook constitutive equation and fracture criterion.Using these three steel alloys, perforation tests are carried out on 12 mm-thick plates with blunt-, conical- and ogival-nosed projectiles. A compressed gas gun was used to launch projectiles within the velocity range from 150 to 350 m/s. The initial and residual velocities of the projectile were measured, while the perforation process was captured using a digital high-speed camera system. Based on the test data the ballistic limit velocity was obtained for the three steels for the different nose shapes. The experimental results indicate that for perforation with blunt projectiles the ballistic limit velocity decreases for increasing strength, while the opposite trend is found in tests with conical and ogival projectiles. The tests on Weldox 700 E and Weldox 900 E targets with conical-nosed projectiles resulted in shattering of the projectile nose tip during penetration.Finally, numerical simulations of some of the experimental tests are carried out using the non-linear finite element code LS-DYNA. It is found that the numerical code is able to describe the physical mechanisms in the perforation events with good accuracy. However, the experimental trend of a decrease in ballistic limit with an increase in target strength for blunt projectiles is not obtained with the numerical models used in this study.     

Problems associated with launching hypervelocity projectiles from the fast shock tube

Modeling and experiments are being done with the goal of understanding the physics of projectile acceleration at high driving pressures (megabar range) and short acceleration times (a few microseconds) well enough to design and test successful hypervelocity launch systems. The Fast Shock Tube, a cylindrically convergent high-explosive driver, has been used to accelerate projectiles. Detailed modeling of the experiments, including high-pressure gas flow, projectile instability, and projectile fracture, has been done with the MESA/2D code. Modeling results show quantitative agreement with the average behavior of the system. However, details of projectile behavior are not predicted well. Observed velocity distributions across the diameter of a projectile or projectile shapes are only in qualitative agreement with calculations. This, then, presents the major constraint on the successful design of a launch system: that the processes that limit projectile integrity depend on the details of the drive conditions, and these details are not quantitatively modeled at this time.     

Mass loss from abrasion on ogive-nose steel projectiles that penetrate concrete targets

We developed an abrasion model that predicts mass loss and change in nose shape for steel projectiles that penetrate concrete targets. Mass loss data from four sets of experiments with two ogive-nose projectile geometries and concrete targets with limestone and quartz aggregates were used to develop the abrasion model. We plotted post-test mass loss versus initial kinetic energy and found a nearly linear dependence for striking velocities to approximately 1000 m/s. With this linear relationship, we derived a mathematical model that was implemented into the Sandia-developed, Eulerian hydrocode CTH. Predictions from CTH agreed well with experimental observations.     

Shape optimization for radar cross sections by a gradient method

A gradient method for optimization of shape and materials for radar cross section (RCS) reduction is derived from Maxwell's equations. The method uses the adjoint problem and finds the derivatives of the RCS with respect to all design parameters from a single solution of the scattering problem. The method is tested in two-dimensional test problems to minimize the RCS in specified angular intervals at a single frequency, and finds configurations with strongly reduced RCS in a small number of iterations. In the absence of other constraints, the optimal shapes of perfectly electrically conducting (PEC) scatterers have sharp corners pointing in the directions where the RCS is minimized and shapes optimized at a single or small number of frequencies exhibit corrugations with about half the wavelength of the incident wave. The corrugations can be suppressed by means of penalty functions, and this gives only moderate increases of the RCS. After such regularization, the optimal shapes agree well with expectations from geometrical optics; they have almost flat surfaces whose normals lie outside the intervals chosen for RCS optimization, and sharp edges at locations where the surface normal points into the intervals in which the RCS is minimized. Shape optimization of PEC wing profiles aiming at both good aerodynamical properties and low RCS show give conflicting requirements on the shape. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting orbital debris shape and orientation effects on spacecraft shield ballistic limits based on characteristic length

We propose the use of “characteristic length,” based on radar cross section, as a metric for comparing the performance of orbital debris impactors of differing shapes, and the use of NASA's standard breakup model (SBM) “flake” shape as the representative particle for predicting orbital debris penetration effects. We also propose the use of a 26-view methodology for examining non-spherical particles such as cylinders, rectangular prisms, octahedrons, etc., with the intent to describe their potential impact orientations while minimizing the number of hydrocode runs needed to develop orientation-dependent ballistic limit curves. Using this methodology and the smooth particle hydrodynamic code (SPHC), we predict the ballistic limit for SBM-based particles against a typical spacecraft dual-wall shield at normal obliquity and velocities of 7, 8, and 12 km/s. Finally, we compare these results with ballistic limits produced by spherical impactors of the same characteristic length as the SBM-based particles.     

Protection effectiveness of an oblique plate against a long rod

Protection effectiveness of an oblique metallic plate against a long rod projectile has been evaluated through a three-dimensional dynamic finite element computer program. The parameters considered in the simulations are the impact velocity, oblique plate thickness, gap distance between oblique plate and witness block, and obliquity. It was found that protection performance of an oblique plate was maximized in case that the ratio of line-of-sight (LOS) plate thickness to projectile diameter is around 2.0. This result may be used as a guide for the design of obliquely spaced armour structures against long rod projectiles.     

超声速旋转火箭弹气动流场的微楔控制

超声速弹箭表面的流体分离是影响飞行稳定的主要影响因素之一。研究表明,微楔涡流发生器可有效控制超声速流体边界层的流动分离。该文基于制式122火箭弹,通过在弹肩前端安装微楔来研究边界层流动分离控制对火箭弹气动性能的影响。运用DES方法数值模拟了122火箭弹在有无加装微楔条件下的流场变化,对比分析了微楔对弹体表面边界层结构以及弹气动数据的改变,讨论了微楔对弹的气动力及稳定性作用。数值结果表明,微楔可以抑制弹体表面流体分离,提高火箭弹的升力及俯仰力矩,减小马格努斯力矩,有利于提高其飞行稳定性及射击精度,可为相关旋转火箭弹的改进提供指导。     

Perforation of high-strength fabric by projectiles of different geometry

This paper investigates the ballistic limits, energy absorption behaviour and the mechanisms that lead to perforation in Twaron^® CT 716 plain-woven, single-ply fabric by different shaped projectiles. The projectile shapes tested are flat head, hemispherical head, ogival head (CRH 2.5) and conical head (half angle of 30°).Results show that while the amount of energy absorbed by the fabric is quantitatively different for all four projectiles, they show similar trends—energy absorbed increases with impact velocity up to a critical impact velocity before it starts to decrease. The energy absorption capability of the Twaron^® fabric is explained by considering how impact energy is converted to strain energy and kinetic energy of the fabric. Each projectile shape was also found to perforate the fabric through different mechanisms—yarn rupture, fibrillation, failure by friction, and bowing.     

Explosive gun launcher for impact studies

We have modified the design of an explosive gun launcher described at the Third Symposium on Hypervelocity Impact for use with pre-cast explosive charges and to provide performance information for steel projectiles. Other modifications include additional confinement of the detonation products, a longer barrel and longer conical transition from breech to barrel, provision for dynamic sealing of the access hole for the detonator wires, and additional buffering to prevent spall fracture of the projectile in the barrel. The modified gun launched a 12.1 gram steel projectile to a measured velocity of 3.2 km/s. Computational simulations have been performed to determine the effects of changes in the projectile density, confinement material density, and explosive type. The use of recyclable confinement material is discussed.