Rheology of Lunar Regolith Simulant Under Varying Gravitational Conditions

Rheology of Lunar Regolith Simulant Under Varying Gravitational Conditions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Rheology of Lunar Regolith Simulant Under Varying Gravitational Conditions Ian P. Madden, Sathyashri Muruganandam, Amine Missaoui, Oliver Gries, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5419033/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 01 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in npj Microgravity → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Understanding structure-property-process relationship aka rheology of regolith in varying gravity conditions is critical for exploration and future missions. In this work, a framework for studying rheology of lunar regolith simulant in varying gravity conditions (Terrestrial, Lunar and Martian) is described theoretically/numerically, where the driving force of flow of simulants was gravitational acceleration. In the analysis particle-particle interaction forces were included. It was found that the dynamic behavior of granular material is extremely sensitive to external conditions by virtue of the myriad of forces present between particle grains. The results obtained were validated against results obtained in earth and Lunar gravity conditions. The theoretical/numerical and experimental results showed that the complex interaction of these forces can drastically change the dynamics of the material, which is not captured by standard design rules, generally used in industry, for variable gravity applications. Physical sciences/Materials science/Soft materials/Rheology Physical sciences/Materials science/Soft materials/Glasses Physical sciences/Engineering/Mechanical engineering Physical sciences/Engineering/Aerospace engineering Granular Matter Soft Matter Jamming Simulation Micro-gravity Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files JSC1AHourglass.m4v SimulationOneTenthLunarGravityPhi0.001.mp4 SimulationLunarGravityPhi0.001.mp4 SimulationEarthGravityPhi0.001.mp4 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 01 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in npj Microgravity → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 03 Feb, 2025 Reviews received at journal 28 Dec, 2024 Reviews received at journal 09 Dec, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Dec, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Nov, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Nov, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 13 Nov, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 13 Nov, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 12 Nov, 2024 First submitted to journal 08 Nov, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5419033","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":384497096,"identity":"956aa8de-837e-4f9b-ad94-9c4fad037e50","order_by":0,"name":"Ian P. 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