A series of experiments has been performed on the the Sandia HyperVelocity Launcher (HVL) to evaluate the effectiveness of a thin Whipple bumper shield at impact velocities up to 10.5 km/s by orbital space debris. Upon impact by an 0.67gm (0.87 mm thick) flier plate the thin aluminum bumper shield completely disintegrates into a debris cloud. The debris cloud front propagates axially at velocities in excess of 14 km/s and expands radially at a velocity of (approximately)7 km/s. Subsequent loading on a 3.2 mm thick aluminum substructure by the debris cloud penetrates the substructure completely. 8 refs., 4 figs.
Whipple bumper shield tests at over 10 km/s
1991
10 pages
Report
No indication
English
Whipple bumper shield simulations
NTIS | 1991
|Orbital Debris Impact on a Simple Whipple Bumper Shield
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1993
|Experimental and Numerical Simulations of Orbital Debris Impact on a Simple Whipple Bumper Shield
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1992
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