Simulation of orbital debris impacts on bumper shields

A series of numerical simulations have been performed using CTH to predict secondary debris formation and rear structure damage for typical bumper shields under a variety of impact geometries The simulations span a range of velocities from {approximately}3 to 12 km/s and are compared to the experiment data for the lower velocities (3 to 7 km/s). For one velocity ({approximately}7 km/s), CTH was used to demonstrate the effects of bumper thickness on secondary debris formation and rear structure damage. CTH was also used to stimulate a 12 km/s impact of a sphere on a simple Whipple bumper shield and this result will be compared to analytic damage predictions at that velocity. It has been found that CTH accurately predicts secondary debris propagation and rear damage for velocities throughout the experimentally accessible range. The CTH damage predictions at 12 km/s result in a higher ballistic limit than would be predicted from the analytic techniques.