Related papers: Measuring Regolith Strength in Reduced Gravity Env…
Despite their very low surface gravities, the surfaces of asteroids and comets are covered by granular materials - regolith - that can range from a fine dust to a gravel-like structure of varying depths. Understanding the dynamics of…
Understanding how granular materials behave in low gravity is crucial for planetary science and space exploration. It can also help us understand granular phenomena usually hidden by gravity. On Earth, gravity dominates granular behavior,…
Despite their very low surface gravities, asteroids exhibit a number of different geological processes involving granular matter. Understanding the response of this granular material subject to external forces in microgravity conditions is…
This work presents an experimental design for studying low-velocity collisions into granular surfaces in low-gravity. In the experiment apparatus, reduced-gravity is simulated by releasing a free-falling projectile into a surface container…
The dusty regolith covering the surfaces of asteroids and planetary satellites differs in size, shape, and composition from terrestrial soil particles and is subject to very different environmental conditions. Experimental studies of the…
Regolith simulants are essential for space research and technology development. Yet, their physical properties often differ from those of true planetary soil, particularly when compared to regolith properties in-situ, that experience…
We present recent improvements in the simulation of regolith sampling processes in microgravity using the numerical particle method smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH). We use an elastic-plastic soil constitutive model for large deformation…
Shear strength and cohesion of granular materials are important geotechnical properties that play a crucial role in the stability and behavior of lunar and Martian regolith, as well as their terrestrial analog materials. To characterize and…
The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is frequently used to model complex granular systems and to augment the knowledge that we obtain through theory, experimentation, and real-world observations. Numerical simulations are a particularly…
In granular physics experiments, it is a persistent challenge to obtain the boundary stress measurements necessary to provide full a rheological characterization of the dynamics. Here, we describe a new technique by which the outer boundary…
The compression property of regolith reflects the strength and porosity of the regolith layer on small bodies and their variations in the layer that largely influence the collisional and thermal evolution of the bodies. We conducted…
Porosity is a key characteristic of the regolith on the surface of small bodies. The porosity of the regolith on the surface of asteroids is changed by applied pressure, and the relationship between pressure and porosity depends on the…
Shear cell simulations and experiments of weakly wetted particles (a few volume percent liquid binders) are compared, with the goal to understand their flow rheology. Application examples are cores for metal casting by core shooting made of…
Surfaces of planets and small bodies of our Solar System are often covered by a layer of granular material that can range from a fine regolith to a gravel-like structure of varying depths. Therefore, the dynamics of granular materials are…
All atmosphere-less planetary bodies are covered with a dust layer, the so-called regolith, which determines the optical, mechanical and thermal properties of their surface. These properties depend on the regolith material, the size…
Understanding the response of coal mechanical properties to dewatering and gas depletion is critical for estimating borehole stability and designing infill coal seam gas (CSG) wells. Despite its importance, the full impact of these…
We develop and thoroughly test a stress-controlled, parallel plates shear cell that can be coupled to an optical microscope or a small angle light scattering setup, for simultaneous investigation of the rheological properties and the…
The prospect of establishing extra-terrestrial habitats using in situ resource utilization (ISRU) constitutes a long-term goal of multiple space agencies around the world. In this work, we investigate sintering as a potential route for…
Rhenium, Re, is used as an x-ray shield in laser-driven material property experiments, where its strength at high pressures can be a consideration in the design, modeling, and interpretation. We present a Steinberg-Guinan (SG) strength…
We introduce a novel apparatus designed for stress-controlled rheometers to perform simultaneous rheological and electrical measurements on strongly conductive complex fluids under shear. By means of a non-toxic liquid metal at room…