A simple model for the optimization of stand-off hypervelocity particle shields

Impacts at extreme velocities of many tens or even hundreds of kilometers per second are essentially inaccessible to experiment; hence, theory and the resulting scaling laws are the only means to describe the relevant phenomena. One area amenable to this approach involves analyzing the efficacy of stand-off shields for protection against hypervelocity particles. A simple model that allows for optimal design of these shields is developed. Examples and scaling laws that provide estimates for the minimum requirements for such shields are derived from the model