2024/03/16 by Brandon Dotson, Dotson, B., Diana Valencia +11 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP) #FOS: Physical sciences #Planetary Science and Exploration #Space Physics (physics.space-ph)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2403.11029
openalex publication_date 2024/03/16 · openalex created_date 2024/03/21 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
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 predict shear strength and cohesion for future space missions, it is also important to understand the effects of particle size distribution and density on these fundamental geotechnical properties. Generalized equations have been established using empirical data from direct shear measurements of lunar and Martian regolith simulants to quantify the effects of particle size distribution and density on cohesion and shear strength. Preliminary results are also presented highlighting the effects of atmospheric absorbed water on shear strength and cohesion when conducting experiments in atmospheric conditions on Earth. The results of this study show that cohesion increases exponentially with bulk density, while the exponential growth constant is also dependent on particle size distribution.