Mechanical Properties of QH-E Lunar Soil Simulant at Low Confining Stresses
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 2
Abstract
The low-moon gravity has a significant influence on the mechanical properties of lunar soils at low-stress levels. To better understand the shear strength and deformation behavior of lunar soils at low confining stress and to facilitate the modeling and simulation of lunar activities, a series of consolidated drained triaxial compression tests were performed on numerous samples of lunar-soil simulant developed by Tsinghua University, China (named as QH-E). Great care was taken to conduct the experimental studies at low confining stresses such that reliable results can be obtained. The measured data suggest that QH-E samples exhibited strain-softening behavior with typical residual shear strength behavior characteristics. It was also found the residual internal friction angle approximately 40°, regardless of confining stress, and relative density, , whereas the peak apparent cohesion intercept is not equal to zero owing to the nonlinear behavior of shear strength of QH-E. However, the residual value of apparent cohesion intercept is equal to zero. The rate of change of dilatancy angle at low confining stress values is greater than those at the conventional confining stress values. Further, based on the measured data from this study, two empirical models were suggested to predict the tangent modulus and shear modulus of QH-E at low confining stress, and according to the prediction models for internal friction angle and dilatancy angle in the literature, the model parameters of QH-E at low confining stress were determined.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Grant No. 51079075).
References
Alshibli, K. A., Asce, M., and Hasan, A. (2009). “Strength properties of JSC-1A lunar regolith simulant.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 673–679.
Arslan, H., Batiste, S., and Sture, S. (2010). “Engineering properties of lunar soil simulant JSC-1A.” J. Aerosp. Eng., 70–83.
ASTM. (2010a). “Standard test methods for maximum index density and unit weight of soils using a vibratory table.” D4253, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2010b). “Standard test methods for minimum index density and unit weight of soils and calculation of relative density.” D4254, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2010c). “Standard test methods for specific gravity of soil solids by water Pycnometer.” D854, West Conshohocken, PA.
Carrier, W. D. (2003). “Particle size distribution of lunar soil.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 956–959.
Carrier, W. D., Mitchell, J. K., and Mahmood, A. (1973). “The nature of lunar soil.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Div., 99(SM10), 813–832.
Carrier, W. D., Olhoeft, G. R., and Mendell, W. (1991). “Physical propertiesof lunar surface.” Chapter 9, Lunar source book—A user’s guide to the moon, G. H. Heiken, D. T. Vaniman, and B. M. French, eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
Chandra, S. D., Hamid, S., and Kirsten, G. (1991). “Development and mechanical properties of structural materials from lunar simulant.” NASA space engineering research center for utilization of local planetary resources, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ, 16–25.
Enrique, R., Allen, W., Alan, E., and Carolyn, Y. (2009). “Flow ability of JSC-1A.”.
Fukushina, S., and Tatsuoka, F. (1984). “Strength and deformation characteristics of Saturated sand at extremely low pressures.” Soils Found., 24(4), 31–48.
GB/T. (2007). “Chinese Standard for Engineering Classification of Soil, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Department of China, Beijing.”.
Gertsch, L. E., and Gertsch, R. E. (1990). “Application of lunar criteria to three terrestrial mining methods.” Engineering construction and operations in space, S. W. Johnson, ed., ASCE, New York, 284–293.
Görz, H., White, W. E., Johnson, G. G., and Pearson, M. W. (1972). “CESEMI studies of Apollo 14 and 15 Fines.” Proc., 3rd Lunar Science Conf., MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 3195–3200.
Görz, H., White, W. E., Roy, R., and Johnson, G. G. (1971). “Particle size and shape distribution of lunar fines by CESEMI.” Proc., 2nd Lunar Science Conf., MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2021–2025.
Heiken, G. H., Vaniman, D. T., and French, B. M. (1991). Lunar sourcebook—A user’s guide to the moon, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K., 475–594.
Jiang, M. J., and Li, L. Q. (2011). “Development of TJ-1 lunar soil simulant.” Chinese J. Geotech. Eng., 33(2), 209–214 (in Chinese).
Jiang, M. J., Li, L. Q., Liu, F., and Su, Y. G. (2011). “Effects of moisture content and gradation on mechanical properties of TJ-1 lunar soil simulant.” Rock Soil Mech., 32(7), 1921–1925 (in Chinese).
Jolly, S. D., Happel, J., and Sture, S. (1994). “Design and construction of shielded lunar outpost.” J. Aerosp. Eng., 417–434.
Klosky, J. L., Sture, S., Ko, H. Y., and Barnes, F. (1996). “Vibratory excavation and anchoring tools for the lunar surface.” Proc., 5th Int. Conf. on Space’96, ASCE, Albuquerque, NM, 903–912.
Klosky, J. L., Sture, S., Ko, H. Y., and Barnes, F. (2000). “Geotechnical behavior of JSC-1 lunar soil simulant.” J. Aerosp. Eng., 133–138.
Li, J. Q., Zou, M., Gu, Y., Chen, B., and Ma, W. Z. (2008). “Lunar soil simulant for vehicle-terra mechanics research in laboratory.” Rock Soil Mech., 29(6), 1557–1561 (in Chinese).
Li, Y. Q., Liu, J. Z., and Yue, Z. Y. (2009). “NAO-1: Lunar highland soil simulant developed in China.” J. Aerosp. Eng., 53–57.
Li, Z. G. (2008). “Research on geotechnical centrifuge 382 model tests on interaction between artificial device and simulated lunar soil.” Master’s thesis, Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (in Chinese).
Mahmood, A., Mitchell, J. K., and Carrier, W. D. (1974). “Grain orientation in lunar soil.” Proc., 5th Lunar Science Conf., Pergamon Press, New York, 2347–2354.
McKay, D. S., Carter, J. L., Boles, W. W., Allen, C. C., and Allton, J. H. (1994). “JSC-1: A new lunar soil simulant.” Engineering, construction and operations in space, S. W. Johnson, ed., ASCE, New York, 857–866.
Melzer, K. J. (1974). “Methods for investigating the strength characteristics of a lunar soil stimulant.” Geotechnique, 24(1), 13–20.
Perkins, S. W., and Madson, C. R. (1996). “Mechanical and load settlement characteristics of two lunar soil simulant.” J. Aerosp. Eng., 1–9.
Perkins, S. W., Sture, S., and Ko, H. Y. (1992). “Experimental, physicaland numerical modeling of lunar regolith and lunar regolith structures.” Engineering, construction and operations in space, S. W. Johnson, ed., ASCE, New York.
Ponce, M., and Bell, J. M. (1971). “Shear strength of sand at extremely low pressures.” J. Soil Mech. Found., 97, 625–638.
Powers, M. C. (1953). “A new roundness scale for sedimentary particles.” J. Sediment. Petrol., 23(2), 117–119.
Richman, D., Hoelzer, H., Carpenter, P., Sibille, L., Howard, R., and Owens, C. (2007). “A quantitative method for evaluating regolith simulants.” Space Technology and Applications Int. Forum—STAIF, AIP Publishing, Melville, New York, 957–963.
Stroud, M. A. (1971). “The behavior of sand at low stress levels in the simple-shear apparatus.” Ph.D. dissertation, Cambridge Univ., Cambridge, U.K.
Wang, K. (2012). “Experimental study on physical and mechanical properties of lunar soil simulant for drilling.” Master’s thesis, Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (in Chinese).
Willman, B. M., Boles, W. B., McKay, D. S., and Allen, C. C. (1995). “Properties of lunar soil simulant JSC-1.” J. Aerosp. Eng., 77–87.
Wood, D. M. (1990). Soil behavior and critical state soil mechanics, Cambridge University Press, New York.
Xiao, L., He, X. X., Wu, T., Huang, J., He, Q., and Wang, C. H. (2009). “The character of the lunar soil and the simulated lunar soil CUG-1A.” 7th Annual Seminar of Space Science Society of China, Dalian, China, 391–396 (in Chinese).
Zheng, Y. C., et al. (2009). “CAS-1 lunar soil simulant.” Adv. Space Res., 43(3), 448–454 (in Chinese).
Zheng, Y. C., Wang, S. J., Feng, J. M., Ouyang, Z. Y., Liu, J. H., and Liu, C. R. (2007). “CAS-1 simulated lunar soil.” Acta Mineral. Sin., 27(3/4), 571–578.
Zou, M., Li, J. Q., and He, L. (2012). “Experimental Study on the pressure-sinkage characteristic of the simulant regolith with different particle size distribution.” Acta Aeronaut. Astronaut. Sin., 33(12), 2338–2346.
Zou, M., Li, J. Q., and Liu, G. M. (2011). “Experimental study of terra-mechanics characters of simulant lunar soil.” Rock Soil Mech., 32(4), 1057–1061 (in Chinese).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 16, 2014
Accepted: May 28, 2015
Published online: Jul 28, 2015
Discussion open until: Dec 28, 2015
Published in print: Mar 1, 2016
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.