A phenomenological high strain rate model with failure for ice

Modeling the high velocity impact of ice was a requirement in the safety calculations for the return-to-flight of the Space Shuttle on July 26, 2005. Ice, however, is not a common structural material and commercial finite element programs did not have any appropriate models. A phenomenological model with failure was developed to match experimental ballistic tests. The model has a relatively small number of material constants, most of which have been measured experimentally. A description of the model and comparisons of calculations to experiments are presented.