Engineering topics

Ahrens, T. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Ahrens, T. J..

At least 91 records · Page 5

NASA NTRS1979

The history of an atmosphere of impact origin

Most of the masses accreting onto the earth and terrestrial planets impacted at sufficiently high velocities to release their volatiles into the atmosphere by impact-heating. However, based on models of planetary growth by accumulation from solid bodies, the time-scale for accretion was sufficiently long that the average surface temperatures could not have risen above 320 K. Using measured reaction rates, the released volatiles should have been re-incorporated into the planet by hydrating the surface minerals and were subsequently buried during accretion. Rapid hydration of impact products precludes the formation of a thick atmosphere as the planet accreted. Thus, only the subsequent differentiation and evolution of the terrestrial planets determined the size and composition of each planet's atmosphere.

Jakosky, B. M.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Impact flows and crater scaling on the moon

The axisymmetric distribution of stress, internal energy, and particle velocity resulting from the impact of an iron meteoroid with a gabbroic anorthosite lunar crust has been calculated for the regime in which shock-induced melting and vaporization take place. Comparison of impact flow fields, with phase changes in silicates taken into account, with earlier results demonstrate that in the phase-change case where the 15-km/s projectile has penetrated some two projectile radii into the moon, the peak stress in the flow is about 0.66 Mbar at a depth of 66 km, and the stress has decayed to about 66 kbar at a depth of 47 km. Rapid attenuation occurs because of the high rarefaction velocity of the high-pressure phases associated with a 35% (zero-pressure) density increase. This feature of the phase-change flow tends to concentrate strongly the maximum shock pressures along the meteoroid trajectory (axis) and makes the conical zone along which high internal energy deposition occurs both shallow and narrow. Examination of the gravitational energies required to excavate larger craters on the moon indicates the importance of gravity forces acting during the excavation of craters having radii in the range greater than about 2 to 140 km.

Okeefe, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Post-shock temperatures in minerals

Post-shock temperatures were measured in a wide variety of materials, including those of geophysical interest such as silicates by using an infrared detector to determine the brightness temperature of samples shocked to pressures in the range 5 to approximately 30 GPa. Measurements were made in the 4.5 to 5.75 micron and in the 7 to 14 micron wavelength ranges. Reproducible results, withe the temperatures in the two wavelength bands generally in excellent agreement, were obtained for aluminum-2024 (10.5 to 33 GPa; 125 to 260 C), stainless steel-304 (11.5 to 50 GPa; 80 to 350 C), crystalline quartz (5.0 to 21.5 GPa; 80 to 250 C) forsterite (7.5 to 28.0 GPa; approximately 30 to 160 C) and Bamble bronzite (6.0 to 26.0 GPa; approximately 30 to 225 C). Results are generally much higher at low pressures than the values calculated assuming a hydrodynamic rheology and isentropic release parallel to the Hugoniot but tend towards them at higher pressures.

Raikes, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS1978

The equation of state of a lunar anorthosite - 60025

High-pressure equation of state data for lunar anorthosite with an initial porosity of about 18% are compared with previous results for nonporous anorthosite and lunar samples. The porous anorthosite is characterized by a lower shock impedance than the nonporous anorthosite; nonporous gabbroic anorthosite and high-titanium mare basalt show higher shock impedances than the nonporous anorthosite. Thus the properties of target rocks may bias crater statistics and apparent cratering ages for different lunar terranes. Repeated meteoritic bombardment of the moon resulting in even mild brecciation and, hence, porosity, could lead to increases in the efficiency with which thermal energy is trapped by the surface upon impact.

Jeanloz, R.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Energy and mass distributions of impact ejecta blankets on the moon and Mercury

The paper applies previously calculated impact-induced flow fields (O'Keefe and Ahrens, 1977) resulting from interaction of 5-cm radius gabbroic anorthosite impactor with a half-space of the same material, at various velocities, to obtain mass and energy ejecta distributions. Whereas earlier results described the ejecta distribution from a 15 km/s impact of an iron object on the moon in terms of mass vs. distance, the present results describe, at a given distance from the impact, the energy content as a function of depth, i.e., the thermal structure of ejecta blankets. Pertinent computational methods are included, and several tables and plots supplement the text.

Ahrens, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Meteorite impact ejecta - Dependence of mass and energy lost on planetary escape velocity

The amounts of material and energy which escape a planet in a meteorite impact event is calculated as functions of impact and escape velocities. Results are obtained from the computed flow induced by the impact of iron and gabbroic anorthosite spheres onto a half-space of anorthosite at impact velocities of 5 to 45 km/sec. The impact-induced flows were determined by a numerical method using the mass, momentum, and energy conservation relations in finite-difference approximation, within an Eulerian computational grid. The impact velocities at which ejecta losses equal meteorite mass gains are found to be approximately 20, 35, and 45 km/sec for anorthosite objects and approximately 25, 35, and 40 km/sec for iron objects striking anorthosite surfaces for the gravity fields of the moon, Mercury and Mars.

Okeefe, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Shock-produced olivine glass - First observation

Transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations of an experimentally shock-deformed single crystal of natural peridot, /Mg(0.88)Fe(0.12)/2SiO4, recovered from peak pressures of about 56 billion pascals revealed the presence of amorphous zones located within crystalline regions with a high density of tangled dislocations. This is the first reported observation of olivine glass. The shocked sample exhibits a wide variation in the degree of shock deformation on a small scale, and the glass appears to be intimately associated with the highest density of dislocations. This study suggests that olivine glass may be formed as a result of shock at pressures above about 50 to 55 billion pascals and that further TEM observations of naturally shocked olivines may demonstrate the presence of glass.

Jeanloz, R.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Effects of shock pressures on calcic plagioclase

Calcic plagioclase single crystals were subjected to shock loading up to a pressure of 496 kbar; optical and electron microscope studies were conducted to investigate the shock-induced effects on the mineral, which is found in terrestrial and lunar rocks and in meteorites. It was observed that up to 287 kbar pressure, the recovered samples are essentially crystalline, while samples subjected to pressures between 300 and 400 kbar are almost 100% diaplectic glasses, suggesting shock transformation in the solid state. Samples shock-loaded to pressures greater than 400 kbar yielded glasses with refractive indices similar to those of thermally fused glass. It is concluded that planar features, absent in all the specimens, may not be definitive shock indicators, but may be linked to local heterogeneous dynamic stresses experienced by plagioclase grains within shocked rocks.

Gibbons, R. V.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Impact-induced energy partitioning, melting, and vaporization on terrestrial planets

The reported investigation was conducted in connection with the desirability to obtain information regarding the response of a solidified planetary surface to the primary impact of a meteoroid whose dimensions are small compared to that of the planet. The investigation is an extension of studies conducted by Ahrens and O'Keefe (1977) concerned with a calculation via finite-difference techniques of the entire flow field, the energy partitioning, and the quantity of melt and vapor produced upon impact of an iron object on a gabbroic anorthosite half-space at 15 km/sec. The assumptions used in these calculations are summarized. Calculations based on an equation of state for the low- and high-pressure mineral assemblage of gabbroic anorthosite, initial density 2.94 g/cu cm are considered. An algorithm is formulated for the description of the phase transformation upon shock loading. It is shown that the relative volume of melt and the equivalent volume of shock-induced vapor is proportional to the meteoroid kinetic energy (at high speeds) using the similarity scaling of projectile and target properties as suggested by Dienes and Walsh (1970).

Okeefe, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Shock compression and adiabatic release of a titaniferous mare basalt

A report is presented regarding the dynamic properties of a rock indigenous to the mare basins of the moon. The reported data were obtained in a study of sample 70215, a very titanium-rich basalt (58% pyroxene, 18% ilmenite, 15% plagioclase, 6% olivine, and 3% quartz by weight). This rock is probably representative of a class of the earliest mare-filling extrusive rocks which are exposed on the present lunar surface. Two series of experiments were performed. One set of experiments involved the measuring of Hugoniot and release adiabats to 15.7 GPa with a propellant gun apparatus. In the second set of experiments, a light-gas gun was employed to yield Hugoniot data at about 120 GPa and release states at about 90 GPa. Lunar basalt 70215 appears to be among the densest rocks in the present lunar sample collection, having a crystal density of 3.38 g/cu cm and a porosity of about 1.3%. The results of the experiments have important implications for both the degree of shock metamorphism expected for impact processes and the extent of ejecta transport on mare surfaces with high-titanium basalt composition.

Ahrens, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Equations of state and impact-induced shock-wave attenuation on the moon

Equation of state formulations are considered in a framework that permits comparison with one-dimensional impedance match solutions. The problem considered is the peak pressures attained along the impact symmetry axis when a sphere impacts with a half-space. The regimes of melting and vaporization - in particular, incipiently melted, completely melted, incipiently vaporized, and completely vaporized states - are examined, and the pressures at which critical isentropes intersect the Hugoniots of iron and gabbroic anorthosite are considered. A means of representing the spatial attenuation of shock pressure along the impact axis by two regimes is introduced, and results for the near-field and far-field regime are presented. It is thought that the treatment can be used to obtain quantitative bounds on the impact velocity of the meteorite.

Ahrens, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Equations of state and impact-induced shock-wave attenuation on the moon

Current equation of state formulations, used for finite difference cratering flow calculations, are cast into a framework permitting comparison of peak pressures attained upon impact of a sphere, with a half-space, along the impact symmetry axis, to one dimensional impedance match solutions. On the basis of this formulation and application of thermochemical data, the regimes of melting and vaporization are examined. For the purpose of identifying material which will, upon isentropic release from the impact-induced shock state, result in a solid just brought to its melting point, i.e., incipiently melted (IM); completely melted (CM); just brought to its boiling point, i.e., incipiently vaporized (IV); and completely vaporized (CV) state, the pressures at which the critical isentropes intersect the Hugoniots of iron and gabbroic anorthosite (GA) are examined in detail. The latter rock type is assumed to be representative of the lunar highlands. The Hugoniot pressures, for which IM, CM, IV, and CV will occur upon isentropic expansion, are calculated to be 2.2, 2.6, 4.2, and 16.8 Mbar, respectively.

Ahrens, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Shock-induced fine-grained recrystallization of olivine - Evidence against subsolidus reduction of Fe/2+/

Electron spin resonance (ESR) studies have been carried out on three single grains of terrestrial olivine (Fo90) shock loaded along the 010 line to peak pressures of 280, 330, and 440 kbar. The results indicate that neither metallic Fe similar to that observed in returned lunar soils nor paramagnetic Fe(3+) caused by oxidation of Fe(2+) has been produced in these shock experiments. Trace amounts of Mn (2+) have been detected in both shocked and unshocked olivine. The ESR signals of Mn(2+) show spectral features which are found to correlate with the degree of shock-induced recrystallization observed petrographically. The increasing mass fraction of recrystallized olivine correlates with increasing shock pressures. This phenomenon is modelled assuming it results from the progressive effect of the shock-induced transformation of the olivine to a yet unknown high-pressure phase and its subsequent reversion to the low-pressure olivine phase. The mass fraction of recrystallized material is predicted to be nearly linear with shock pressure.

Ahrens, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Alkali mobility in shocked basalt

An electron microprobe was used to study plagioclase in unshocked and experimentally shocked samples of Vacaville basalt, and unstable microprobe analyses have been reported for shocked chondritic meteorites. It is concluded that there is no selective sodium loss due to the shock process. Sodium mobilization under the electron beam reflects increasingly severe lattice damage for increasing shock pressures

Jeanloz, R.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Impact ejecta on the moon

The response of a lunar-sized object to the impact of meteoroids no more than about 100 km in radius is studied by means of a numerical model. The partitioning of impact energy into the kinetic and internal energy of the ejecta is obtained by using the conservation of mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations in finite-difference form within an Eulerian framework with approximate equations of state. The calculations are performed for a 15 km/sec impact of an iron object 5 cm in radius on a gabbroic anorthosite surface. Ejecta ballistic analysis is then performed. Most of the material lost escaping the moon is lunar crust material. Only 0.2% of the meteoroid escapes, all in the vapor phase.

Okeefe, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Compaction by impact of unconsolidated lunar fines

An investigation was conducted concerning the macroscopic irreversible partial compaction of terrestrial or lunar fines. A sample material (70051), assumed to be typical of the fines in the unconsolidated material of the lunar regolith, was used in the experiments. Tests were also carried out with powdered Vacaville basalt. Release adiabate and Hugoniot measurements were conducted. It was found that the dynamic stresses required for irreversible compaction of lunar fines on the moon are significantly lower than the values inferred from the shock recovery experiments conducted by Christie et al. (1973).

Ahrens, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Compaction by impact of unconsolidated lunar fines

New Hugoniot and release adiabat data for 1.8 g/cu cm lunar fines in the approximately 2 to 70 kbar range demonstrate that upon shock compression intrinsic crystal density (approximately 3.1 g/cu cm) is achieved under shock stress of 15 to 20 kbar. Release adiabat determinations indicate that measurable irreversible compaction occurs upon achieving shock pressures above approximately 4 kbar. For shocks in the approximately 7 to 15 kbar range, the inferred post-shock specific volumes observed decrease nearly linearly with increasing peak shock pressures. Upon shocking to approximately 15 kbar the post-shock density is approximately that of the intrinsic minerals. If the present data are taken to be representative of the response to impact of unconsolidated regolith material on the moon, it is inferred that the formation of appreciable quantities of soil breccia can be associated with the impact of meteoroids or ejecta at speeds as low as approximately 1 km/sec.

Ahrens, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Pyroxenes and olivines: Structural implications of shock-wave data for high pressure phases

The nature of the shock-induced, high-pressure phases of olivine and pyroxene rocks is examined in the light of data for the densities of a new class of perovskite-related silicate structures. Also examined are some new Hugoniot and release adiabat data for bronzite. Reexamining available shock data for magnesian pyroxenes and olivines leads to the conclusion that they define a mixed phase (or disequilibrium) region to about the 100 GPa range, related to the kinetics of phase transformation in these silicates. By recognizing this point, certain discrepancies in previous interpretations of shock data can be explained. A set of theoretical Hugonoits for pyroxene and olivine stoichiometry, perovskite-bearing assemblages was constructed based on their properties deduced from high-pressure work, showing that the shock data is compatible with transformations to perovskites in the 45-7GPa region. Finally, the shock data indicate very similar properties for olivine and pyroxene at high pressures making them both equally likely candidates for the lower mantle.

Jeanloz, R.↗