Numerical simulation of space debris hypervelocity impact using SPH method

The SPH(smoothed particle hydrodynamics) was applied to simulate the problems in Whipple structure hypervelocity impact. In modeling the structure, the SPH and FEM(finite element method) discretizations were used simultaneously to reduce the CPU time, and this was very convenient and advantageous in practical engineering design when more CPU time consuming. SPH nodes were employed to model the area where the deformation was larger and likely to be perforated by the projectile. FEM nodes were employed to model the area with small deformation. The calculation results indicate that the fist bumper was perforated and the main wall cratered. Those results were compared with the test results from the literature and indicated fairly good agreement with each other. It demonstrates that SPH method is helpful and efficient in understanding the hypervelocity impact phenomena and fracture mechanism in the space debris hypervelocity impact problem.