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AGH University opens laboratory for research on materials under reduced gravity conditions

Na zdjęciu dłoń trzymająca nieduży krążek tuż nad powierzchnią zbiornika z symulantem, czyli materiałem imitujące warunki podłoża panujące na skalistej planecie. Dłoń sięga w dół poprzez metalowy otwór.

photo by Michał Twardosz

AGH University opens laboratory for research on materials under reduced gravity conditions
research and science

The AGH University has opened a laboratory for research on materials under reduced gravity conditions. The specialised facility at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Resource Management is used for studying various construction materials, coarse and fine-grained soils, and materials that serve as analogues to rocks covering the Earth and other rocky planets under reduced gravity conditions.

Tests conducted in the laboratory aim to better understand the behaviour of the studied materials and explore the interactions, for example, between a lander and the surface of a small celestial body. Professor Marek Cała, Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Resource Management, emphasizes:

"Understanding the influence of variable gravity conditions on the strength and deformation characteristics of materials can provide significant support in the future, for example, during space exploration planning, both by unmanned probes and crewed spacecraft, but also in such disciplines as materials engineering, space mining, and civil engineering. It also expands the range of research conducted at our faculty and provides a new space for scientists to study processes under microgravity conditions and to design tools for use beyond the Earth."

photo by Maciej Talar, KSAF AGH

Na zdjęciu stoją obok siebie od lewej: Prorektor ds. Nauki AGH prof. Marek Gorgoń, Dziekan WILiGZ prof. Marek Cała, doktorantka Malwina Kolano, która trzyma w dłoniach penetrator. Zdjęcie wykonane w laboratorium.

Malwina Kolano, a doctoral student who works in the laboratory, explains:

"Preparations for crewed missions require advanced work and the examination of, among other things, space substrates. This is a crucial element, for example, in planning future colonisation of other planets or the establishment of bases. In my research, I investigate how microgravity conditions affect the physical and mechanical parameters of various soils, including sands, dust, and clays. The results of our research can support the designers of landing devices that will be used in the future on alien planets or moons," adds the geologist.

Simulants, which are materials that imitate the conditions of surfaces found on other celestial bodies, can be of natural or artificial origin, created from terrestrial or meteoritic elements.

"It is important for them to possess one or more physical, mechanical, or chemical properties of the celestial body we want to simulate," explains the scientist.

photo by Maciej Talar, KSAF AGH

Doktorantka prezentuje stożkowaty penetrator.

The laboratory is also equipped with a penetrator, a type of cone that penetrates the tested material. The experiments aim to answer questions such as the required parameters for drilling devices that will be used in space and the mechanical properties of regolith covering the surface of a celestial body after receiving information about the depth and force at which the penetrator penetrated it. A specific feature of these experiments lies in the fact that they are conducted under reduced gravity conditions. Scientists achieve this state by dropping the material with various accelerations (from nearly free fall to an acceleration of approximately 3.0 m/s2). A specialised drop tower is used for this purpose. The tower, over five meters tall, allows for a four-meter drop of the load. AGH's drop tower stands out from other similar structures due to its capability to test a wider range of accelerations, such as those on Mars or the Moon. The loads launched from the drop tower impact the material, which moves with a constant acceleration ranging from 0.05 to 3.0 m/s2. Thanks to variable accelerations, we can observe the tested materials under reduced gravity conditions.

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