The erosion of lunar soil by rocket exhaust plumes is investigated experimentally. This has identified the diffusion-driven flow in the bulk of the sand as an important but previously unrecognized mechanism for erosion dynamics. It has also shown that slow regime cratering is governed by the recirculation of sand in the widening geometry of the crater. Scaling relationships and erosion mechanisms have been characterized in detail for the slow regime. The diffusion-driven flow occurs in both slow and fast regime cratering. Because diffusion-driven flow had been omitted from the lunar erosion theory and from the pressure cratering theory of the Apollo and Viking era, those theories cannot be entirely correct. IntroductionDuring the Apollo and Viking programs there was considerable research into the blast effects of launching and landing on planetary regoliths. That work ensured the success of those missions but also demonstrated that soil erosion or cratering will be a significant challenge for other mission scenarios. For example, the high-velocity spray of eroded soil will pose a serious challenge when we attempt to land multiple spacecraft within short distances of one another on the Moon. We have relevant experience because the Apollo 12 Lunar Module landed 155 meters away from the deactivated Surveyor 3 spacecraft. Portions of the Surveyor were returned by the Apollo astronauts to Earth for analysis. It was found that the surfaces had been sandblasted and pitted and that its openings had been injected with grit from the high-speed spray [Cour-Palais 1972]. This treatment is not acceptable for functional spacecraft.
In this work, a combination of experiments and theory is used to investigate three-body normal collisions between solid particles with a liquid coating (i.e. ‘wetted’ particles). Experiments are carried out using a Stokes' cradle, an apparatus inspired by the Newton's cradle desktop toy except with wetted particles. Unlike previous work on two-body systems, which may either agglomerate or rebound upon collision, four outcomes are possible in three-body systems: fully agglomerated, Newton's cradle (striker and target particle it strikes agglomerate), reverse Newton's cradle (targets agglomerate while striker separates) and fully separated. Post-collisional velocities are measured over a range of parameters. For all experiments, as the impact velocity increases, the progression of outcomes observed is fully agglomerated, reverse Newton's cradle and fully separated. Notably, as the viscosity of the oil increases, experiments reveal a decrease in the critical Stokes number (the Stokes number that demarcates a transition from agglomeration to separation) for both sets of adjacent particles. A scaling theory is developed based on lubrication forces and particle deformation and elasticity. Unlike previous work for two-particle systems, two pieces of physics are found to be critical in the prediction of a regime map that is consistent with experiments: (i) an additional resistance upon rebound of the target particles due to the pre-existing liquid bridge between them (which has no counterpart in two-particle collisions), and (ii) the addition of a rebound criterion due to glass transition of the liquid layer at high pressure between colliding particles.
We realize a nonlinear acoustic lens composed of a two-dimensional array of sphere chains interfaced with water. The chains are able to support solitary waves which, when interfaced with a linear medium, transmit compact pulses with minimal oscillations. When focused, the lens is able to produce compact pressure pulses of high amplitude, the "sound bullets". We demonstrate that the focal point can be controlled via pre-compression of the individual chains, as this changes the wave speed within them. The experimental results agree well both spatially and temporally with analytical predictions over a range of focus locations.
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