Modelling oblique hypervelocity impact phenomena using elementary shock physics

During their missions in space, spacecraft are subjected to high velocity impacts by orbital debris particles. Such impacts are expected to occur at non-normal incidence angles and can cause severe damage to the spacecraft as well as to its external flight-critical components. In order to ensure crew safety as well as the proper function of internal and external spacecraft systems, the characteristics of debris clouds generated by such impacts must be known. In this paper, a first-principles-based analytical model is developed for the characterization of the penetration and ricochet debris clouds created by the hypervelocity impact of a spherical projectile on a thin aluminum plate. This model employs normal and oblique shock wave theory to characterize the penetration and ricochet processes. The predictions of the model are compared against numerical and experimental results.