Multi-Physics Modeling and Simulations of Rocket Plume Induced Lunar/Martian Soil Erosion and Debris Environment

The traditional methods of Lunar/Martian rocket plume-dust simulation lack essential physics and feasibility for realistic application. The challenges arise from plume impingement flow in extra-terrestrial environment and peculiar granular behavior of irregular regolith. This paper presents significant improvement in the physics of plume-surface interaction, soil erosion and debris release through Eulerian multiphase modeling. In this approach, the rocket exhaust gas and regolith phases are coupled with inter-phase momentum and energy exchanges. Appropriate new formulations of granular flow kinetics are developed for poly-dispersed, irregular particles. The surface stresses for plume scouring and regolith roughness are refined by appropriate turbulence modeling. The numerics are built upon high-performance, adaptive mesh refinement architectures. Validation studies and applications will include cratering experiments with sand, Moon/Mars regolith simulants, reduced gravity effects and various Moon/Mars landing scenarios. This tool will provide a basis for deeper understanding of extra-terrestrial debris impact and mitigation measures for future space exploration systems.