Architected beam lattices—ultra-light truss networks fabricated by additive manufacturing—have emerged as a promising material class for protecting different structures against impact, including defending spacecraft against micro-meteoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) impacts. Their high specific strength, energy absorption and tunable mechanical properties make them ideal for various high performance applications including impact protection. Current work on lattice metamaterials has regarding their energy-absorption potentially has identified three distinct impact modes: bounce-back, which is characterized by the impactor rebounding from the lattice; capture, where the impactor becomes lodged in the lattice structure; and penetration, where the impactor breaches the lattice and continues through it. In this work the 3 regimes are reproduced using a Discontinuous Galerkin framwork that integrate Kirchoff-Love beams, Cohesive Zone Model and Penalty Contact Law to model the impact of a rigid impactor on a lattice metamaterial. The framework is used to predict large-deformation contact and fracture in high-fidelity lattice structures struck by rigid projectiles at up to 350 m/s. As a result trends are identified with regards of impact velocity, lattice density and impact regimes. Additionally, key issues are identified with the current setup that give insight into metamaterial impact simulations. ... Read more