Description TWith this project we propose an investigation into the behaviour of "lunar regolith" samples of various particle size distributions under the effect of vertical vibrations in an enclosure. This project stems from an ongoing collaboration between MAE and the European Space Agency (ESA). In order to make future missions to the Moon and Mars more sustainable and prolong their duration, NASA, ESA and other agencies are working to identify the best ways to work with the readily available materials found on these planets, typically the local regolith.

The use of lunar regolith is hindered by its intrinsic nature, due to the material being made of many small, sharp and jagged particles, which makes its management (transfer from the surface of the Moon inside ‘containers’ or transport inside ‘pipes’) relatively difficult. The application of vibrations can cause the regolith to behave as a kind of ‘liquid’ thereby making its transport and utilization much easier.

While the response of monodisperse (same size and shape) beds of granular materials such as uniform glass spheres to vibration is relatively well understood the behaviour of polydisperse (differing size and shape) materials such as lunar regolith is poorly understood as such an investigation into the effect of particle size distribution like that to be conducted in this project will build on a currently lacking knowledge base.

This project aims to build on ongoing experimental effort in the department into this problem by investigating the effect of vertical vibrations on lunar regolith simulant samples with varying particle size distributions in a "2D" container. The candidate will investigate the effects of various combinations of frequencies and amplitudes of vertically applied vibration applied to a set depth of different lunar regolith simulant samples that have been sieved to specific particle size distributions while recording the resulting phenomena exhibited in the granular medium (fluid like motion, convection etc).

Relevant facilities and tools for this project are currently available in the laboratories of MAE. The current setup includes a high speed camera, a light source for material illumination and visualization, transparent containers with different sizes and shapes, particle sieves of various sizes, four different types of lunar regolith simulant and a mechanism to generate vibrations with variable direction, frequency and amplitude.

There are also options with this project to go down a numerical simulation route in conjunction with the experimental work if the candidate has interest in this as the experimental effort currently being undertaken which will run in tandem with this project considers numerical simulation of the same conditions as the experiment using Ansys Rocky. Key Objectives

• To parametrically investigate the effect of a range of frequency's and amplitudes of vertically applied vibration in a 2D container with a fixed bed height of lunar regolith samples of multiple varying particle size distributions.

• To visually and numerically evaluate the differences in the observed phenomena caused by different vibration parameters and the effect of varying the particle size distribution using various techniques such as image processing.

• This project may also go on to investigate the effect on the observed phenomena of lunar regolith samples of different constituent materials (highland versus mare) if time permits.