Simulations of Agglomerate Collisions with Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics - Realistic Material Properties and Sticking, Bouncing and Fragmentation Statistics

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Wilhelm Kley (†)
• Subject Area: Astrophysics and Astronomy
• Term: from 2006 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 24367531

We will investigate the outcome of collisions between pre-planetesimals, utilizing a fully parallelised Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) code extended to simulate the behaviour of solid and porous bodies, in order to provide sticking, bouncing, and fragmentation statistics for global coagulation models used within the Forschergruppe. Within the project, we will develop an enhanced and thermodynamically less restrictive porosity model which will allow the treatment of important additional materials and more realistic environments. By performing broad parameter studies, we eventually will establish dependency laws between general material parameters and sticking, bouncing, and fragmentation statistics, and thus we will be able to predict those material parameters for pre-planetesimals which are suitable to allow coagulational growth. Furthermore, we will assist the laboratory projects of the Forschergruppe which perform collision experiments to investigate the properties of porous materials, by numerically simulating their experimental set-ups to gain better understanding of the experimental outcome and the underlying physical processes.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 759: The Formation of Planets: The Critical First Growth Phase
• Participating Person: Privatdozent Dr. Roland Speith