Nonintrusive Diagnosis of Debris from Hypervelocity Impacts using Ultrahigh-Speed Digital Holography

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) serves the nation’s security and defense-related needs by developing and testing hypersonic weapons system models in their ability to destroy targets, and also design structures to withstand hypervelocity impacts (HVIs). The MDA is keenly interested in innovative diagnostics for HVIs to improve its capability to model and assess hypersonic missile defense lethality and develop improved shielding. Specifically, high-fidelity datasets are needed for benchmark testing and validation of modeling and simulation (M&S) tools and improving hydro- and hydro-structural code methodologies for prediction and understanding the hypervelocity effects on lethality and intercept effectiveness. Accurate 3D characterization of the ejecta/debris clouds in such high energy collision events in terms of particles sizes, shapes and velocity distributions is critical towards the development of M&S tools for generating salient and relevant high-fidelity data from key HVI experiments. Given that 3D visualization and characterization of debris clouds remain challenging, MetroLaser will build upon its digital holographic technology (instrumentation and software), to provide high-resolution, time-resolved data for early and extended timescales that volumetrically-resolve the highly dynamic particle field, and provide fragment shapes, sizes, and their 3D locations, trajectories and velocity field. The interrogation of debris clouds and the post-impact forensic analysis of materials/structures will be performed using several HVI experiments in a state-of-the-art two-stage light gas gun (2SLGG) facility at Texas A&M University (TAMU), the subcontractor for the proposed Phase II STTR effort. The 2SLGG facility has several novel diagnostics which in conjunction with MetroLaser’s digital holography instruments will be used to study the HVI phenomena in a systematic and thorough manner using a variety of test combinations (projectile/target material and their geometries, normal and oblique target impacts, and projectile-impact environments) to yield high-fidelity datasets and results that will help the MDA in validating new material models and developing innovative materials and structures to mitigate HVI threats. Approved for Public Release | 22-MDA-11102 (22 Mar 22)