Behaviors of lunar regolith simulants under varying gravitational conditions

Madden IP, Muruganandam S, Missaoui A, Gries O, Kollmer J, D'Angelo O, Sinha-Ray S (2025)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

npj microgravity Nature Publishing Group

Book Volume: 11

Article Number: 69

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1038/s41526-025-00501-z

Abstract

Understanding the behavior of regolith in varying gravity conditions, is critical for space exploration and future missions. In this work, the gravity-driven hopper flow of lunar regolith simulant in different gravitational accelerations (terrestrial, lunar) is first observed experimentally. Numerical simulations (DEM) are then developed to understand the role which cohesive interparticle forces play in such gravity-driven flow, using the theoretical framework of granular Bond number. Qualitative comparison between a terrestrial experiment and numerical simulation validated this framework. Following that, we numerically studied the dynamic behavior under varying gravitational conditions (from terrestrial to lunar to asteroid gravitational accelerations). We find that this behavior is extremely sensitive to the interplay of the gravity conditions and the attractive/cohesive forces among particles. The numerical and experimental results show that the complex interaction of these forces can drastically change the dynamics of the material producing effects relevant for variable gravity applications.

Authors with CRIS profile

Olfa D'Angelo Lehrstuhl für Multiscale Simulation of Particulate Systems (MSS)

Involved external institutions

Universities Space Research Association (USRA) US United States (USA) (US) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) US United States (USA) (US) Universität Duisburg-Essen (UDE) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Madden, I.P., Muruganandam, S., Missaoui, A., Gries, O., Kollmer, J., D'Angelo, O., & Sinha-Ray, S. (2025). Behaviors of lunar regolith simulants under varying gravitational conditions. npj microgravity, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-025-00501-z

MLA:

Madden, Ian P., et al. "Behaviors of lunar regolith simulants under varying gravitational conditions." npj microgravity 11.1 (2025).

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