The Whipple bumper is a space shield designed to protect a space station from the most hazardous orbital space debris environment. A series of numerical simulations has been performed using the multi-dimensional hydrodynamics code CTH to estimate the effectiveness of the thin Whipple bumper design. These simulations are performed for impact velocities of (approximately)10 km/s which are now accessible by experiments using the Sandia hypervelocity launcher facility. For a (approximately)10 km/s impact by a 0.7 gm aluminum flier plate, the experimental results indicate that the debris cloud resulting upon impact of the bumper shield by the flier plate, completely penetrates the sub-structure. The CTH simulations also predict complete penetration by the subsequent debris cloud. 5 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.
Whipple bumper shield simulations
1991
14 pages
Report
No indication
English
Iron & Iron Alloys , Manned Spacecraft , Spacecraft Trajectories & Flight Mechanics , Space Safety , Space Launch Vehicles & Support Equipment , Shields , Space Vehicles , Aluminium , Design , Equations of State , Hydrodynamics , Impact Tests , Meetings , Plates , Projectiles , Simulation , Velocity , EDB/360103 , EDB/420500
Whipple bumper shield tests at over 10 km/s
NTIS | 1991
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