Abstract
The influence of mission design parameters on the deflection efficiency of hypervelocity kinetic impacts remains an open question. With the upcoming impact of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), great interest exists in understanding how to optimize the deflection of a potentially hazardous object. In this work, we investigate the influence of projectile geometry on three-deflection efficiency observable using 2D simulations with the CTH hydrocode. We vary both the angle between the target and leading edge of the projectile in addition to the aspect ratio, to understand the projectile geometry effects on a kinetic impact. We show evidence for a projectile geometry effect on deflection efficiency observables that is highly dependent on the target material composition, where an enhancement of 5% in β is achieved in strong targets (cohesion=10 MPa), and 28% in weak targets (cohesion=100 Pa). The deflection efficiency is positively correlated to 𝛼 and the projectile aspect ratio, where the sphere and tall rod emerged as the most efficient projectiles in strong and weak targets.
