Numerical Simulation on Characteristics of Debris Clouds Produced by Conical Projectiles Hypervelocity Impact on Thin Plates

With the unceasing development of space activity, the total number of space debris is ever increasing, which greatly threatens orbiting space vehicles.To research the characteristics of debris clouds which are produced by conical projectiles hypervelocity impact on thin plates, SPH (smoothed particle hydrodynamics) methods in AUTODYN is used.Characteristics of debris cloud produced by conical projectiles with different ratio between length and diameter hypervelocity impact on thin plates are investigated with the same mass and velocity by numerical simulation.Effects of the ratio between length and diameter of the projectiles affecting on the form of debris cloud, axial location of debris clouds, radial extension of debris cloud and tip particle velocity of debris cloud are obtained.It is shown that the degree of fragmentation of the projectiles and debris cloud diffusion is changed with the velocity of the projectiles, the ratio between length and diameter and the impacting direction.The increasing ratio between length and diameter of projectiles can reduce the damage of thin plates but rise the damage of the wall of spacecraft by the debris clouds impact on with the same mass and velocity.