Application of Adaptive Mesh Refinement to the Simulation of Impacts in Complex Geometries and Heterogeneous Materials

Introduction: Adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) has been used for improving computational resolution on hyperbolic problems when resources are limited [1-2]. For a mature Eulerian multi-material shock-physics code like CTH [3], adaptivity is considered a natural next step in code development [4]. Recent work has demonstrated the utility of AMR for studying shock processes in 2-D heterogeneous targets for planetary impact applications [5]. In this study, even more complex targets such as a pre-fractured 433 Eros are being simulated with 3-D AMR (Fig. 1).