Analysis of Behind-Armor Debris Fragments From Physics-Based Simulations

The multimaterial, large deformation, strong shock wave, solid mechanics code CTH is heavily used for armor penetration applications. It would be extremely beneficial to use this type of physics-based simulation to produce a realistic behind-armor debris field as input to survivability and lethality codes. Utilizing the capabilities of the interdisciplinary computing environment, we have developed a tool that is capable of identifying individual fragments in a CTH flat mesh or adaptive mesh refinement calculation. Additionally, this tool produces an estimate of the volume (thus mass) and velocity of these arbitrarily shaped fragments, outputting the results into a text file that is suitable for use as input to survivability/lethality calculations. Prepared in cooperation with Dynamic Science, Inc., Aberdeen, MD.