The role of initial speed in projectile impacts into light granular media.

Projectile impact into a light granular material composed of expanded polypropylene (EPP) particles is investigated systematically with various impact velocities. Experimentally, the trajectory of an intruder moving inside the granular material is monitored with a recently developed non-invasive microwave radar system. Numerically, discrete element simulations together with coarse-graining techniques are employed to address both dynamics of the intruder and response of the granular bed.