Peridynamic study on rock impact fragmentation process for deep space exploration

Impact experiment has been commonly used in deep space exploration and asteroid defence. In this paper, three types of rock fragmentation penetrators are employed, and the impact fragmentation process is simulated based on bond-based peridynamic (BB-PD) C++ computational code. The validity of computation is proved by the previous experimental and numerical research. Here, the influences of impact velocity and structure on the damaged mass of rock have been analyzed. The results show that the notched penetrator performs higher rock fragmentation efficiency. The structure of penetrator plays an important role on the damaged mass under the low impact velocity, and the penetrator mass becomes significant in the case of high impact velocity. Furthermore, the rock fragmentation mechanism has been revealed by analyzing the influenced regions and interaction effect. BB-PD simulation indicates the prospect of this notched penetrator for asteroid or planet rock fragmentation application.