Related papers: Simulating regoliths in microgravity
Our understanding of the structural features of foams and emulsions has advanced significantly over the last 20 years. However, with a search for "super-stable" liquid dispersions, foam and emulsion science employs increasingly complex…
The surface gravity on Mars is smaller than the surface gravity on Earth, resulting in longer falling times. This effect can be simulated on Earth by taking advantage of air resistance and buoyancy, which cause low density objects to fall…
In this fluid dynamics video, we present an experimental investigation of the shape of impact craters in granular materials. Complex crater shapes, including polygons, have been observed in many terrestrial planets as well as moons and…
Knowledge of the interior density distribution of an asteroid can reveal its composition and constrain its evolutionary history. However, most asteroid observational techniques are not sensitive to interior properties. We investigate the…
We perform combined X-ray tomography and shear force measurements on a cyclically sheared granular system with highly transient behaviors, and obtain the evolution of microscopic structures and the macroscopic shear force during the shear…
Asteroid (596) Scheila was the first object for which the immediate aftermath of an inter-asteroidal collision was observed. In Dec. 2010, the 113 km-sized asteroid was impacted by a smaller asteroid of less than 100 m in diameter. The…
Remote sensing observations by Hayabusa2 and laboratory measurements have revealed that the phyllosilicates on asteroid (162173) Ryugu are dehydrated/dehydroxylated due to space weathering. Reactive molecular dynamics simulations were…
Based on numerical simulations of quasistatic deformation of model granular materials, two rheological regimes are distinguished, according to whether macroscopic strains merely reflect microscopic material strains within the grains in…
Shear localization in granular materials is studied experimentally and numerically. The system consists of two material layers with different effective frictions. The presence of the material interface leads to a special type of "total…
We present a series of numerical simulations using a shock physics smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) code, investigating energetic impacts on small celestial bodies characterised by diverse internal structures, ranging from weak and…
Exploration of asteroids and comets can give insight into the origins of the solar system and can be instrumental in planetary defence and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). Asteroids, due to their low gravity are a challenging target for…
The mechanical properties of a disordered heterogeneous medium depend, in general, on a complex interplay between multiple length scales. Connecting local interactions to macroscopic observables, such as stiffness or fracture, is thus…
Cohesive granular materials are found in many natural and industrial environments, but experimental platforms for exploring the innate mechanical properties of these materials are often limited by the difficulty of adjusting cohesion…
Since the Apollo program or earlier it has been widely believed that the lunar regolith was compacted through vibrations including nearby impact events, thermal stress release in the regolith, deep moon quakes, and shallow moon quakes.…
We perform molecular dynamic (MD) simulations of frictional non-thermal particles driven by an externally applied shear stress. After the system jams following a transient flow, we probe its mechanical response in order to clarify whether…
The effects of particle roughness and short-ranged non-central forces on colloidal gels are studied using computer simulations in which particles experience a sinusoidal variation in energy as they rotate. The number of minima $n$ and…
The Marginally Rigid State is a candidate paradigm for what makes granular material a state of matter distinct from both liquid and solid. Coordination number is identified as a discriminating characteristic, and for rough-surfaced…
Granular materials such as gravel, cereals, or pellets, are ubiquitous in nature, daily life, and industry. While sharing some characteristics with gases, liquids, and solids, granular matter exhibits a wealth of phenomena that defy these…
The remanent magnetisation of meteorite material in the solar system indicates that magnetic fields of several Gauss are present in the protoplanetary disk. It is shown that such relativelystrong magnetic fields can be generated in dusty…
As dense granular materials are sheared, a shear band and an anisotropic force network form. The approach to steady state behavior depends on the history of the packing and the existing force and contact network. We present experiments on…