Impact response of physical analog of Martian regolith

Abstract

A careful examination of collisional processes occurring on surfaces of Solar System objects requires data on the dynamic properties of porous geological materials. Shock waves traveling in sand with physical properties analogous to those of some types of Martian regolith are studied in a series of uniaxial plate impact experiments. The initial density of the samples and average grain size are 1.30 g cm−3 and 95 μm, respectively. The obtained Hugoniot of this simulant is in general agreement with those of previously studied sands. The effect of porosity and grain morphology on Hugoniots of these geological materials is also highlighted. A laser velocimetry technique is used to observe the structure of propagated waves. Wave fronts with rise times on the order of several hundred or tens of microseconds were recorded in the pressure range of 0.5 to 1.7 GPa. For the simulant, a value of 1.91 was found for an exponent in the relationship between rise time and pressure τ∼p−m. Additionally, exponents for different granular and silica-rich systems studied earlier were also provided. An analysis of wave thickness revealed that in the pressure range of 0.5–1.1 GPa, this parameter can be associated with the grain average size. At the highest pressure (1.7 GPa), the minimum particle size (∼20 μm) turned out to be a more suitable quantity to describe the shock wave structure.