Experimental and computational simulation of the high velocity impact of copper spheres on steel plates

Summary High-velocity impact experiments were performed in which copper spheres struck hardened 4340 steel target plates. Velocities range between 3 and 5 km/s, and both normal and oblique impacts were performed. High-resolution flash radiography was used to diagnose the impact crater formation and debris motion within a time frame accessible to computational simulation. Witness plate and fragment capture methods were used to evaluate size and trajectory statistics of the ejecta fragment debris. The three-dimensional wave-code CTH was used to analyze the crater formation and debris evolution process. Simulated radiographs were constructed for direct comparison with X-ray data.