<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>In the shatter regime of a Whipple shield, a large central fragment makes a significant contribution to the damage-causing capacity of the debris cloud. Herein we present a feasible scheme for the identification and measurement of this large central fragment and propose an alternative approach to the ballistic limit equation (BLE) for the Whipple shield, deducing an alternative ballistic limit in the shatter regime based on the large central fragment’s characteristics. This alternative BLE is compared with the phenomenological Whipple BLE, the JSC Whipple BLE and the Ryan curve. Our alternative BLE, modified at the incipient fragmentation and completed fragmentation point, is shown to agree well with experimental results.</p>
</abstract>

In the shatter regime of a Whipple shield, a large central fragment makes a significant contribution to the damage-causing capacity of the debris cloud. Herein we present a feasible scheme for the identification and measurement of this large central fragment and propose an alternative approach to the ballistic limit equation (BLE) for the Whipple shield, deducing an alternative ballistic limit in the shatter regime based on the large central fragment’s characteristics. This alternative BLE is compared with the phenomenological Whipple BLE, the JSC Whipple BLE and the Ryan curve. Our alternative BLE, modified at the incipient fragmentation and completed fragmentation point, is shown to agree well with experimental results.

An Alternative Ballistic Limit Equation for the Whipple Shield in the Shatter Regime, Based on Characteristics of the Large Central Fragment

State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology

Transactions on Aerospace Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

In the shatter regime of a Whipple shield, a large central fragment makes a significant contribution to the damage-causing capacity of the debris cloud. Herein...

An Alternative Ballistic Limit Equation for the Whipple Shield in the Shatter Regime, Based on Characteristics of the Large Central Fragment

Published Online: Jul 01, 2021

Page range: 12 - 29

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/tar-2021-0008

Keywords
Whipple shield, debris cloud, ballistic limit equation, large central fragment, fragment identification

© 2021 Ken Wen et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

An Alternative Ballistic Limit Equation for the Whipple Shield in the Shatter Regime, Based on Characteristics of the Large Central Fragment

Published Online: Jul 01, 2021

Page range: 12 - 29

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/tar-2021-0008

KeywordsWhipple shield, debris cloud, ballistic limit equation, large central fragment, fragment identification

© 2021 Ken Wen et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Whipple shield, debris cloud, ballistic limit equation, large central fragment, fragment identification