Experimental Investigation of Avalanching Behavior in Magnetic Granular Materials

Psyche 16 is an M-type asteroid located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Measurements of Psyche’s UV spectrum indicate that it is comprised mostly of silicate and iron minerals, and it is possible Psyche is comprised of a former planetary core and therefore have its own magnetic field. If Psyche does have a sufficiently strong magnetic field, we hypothesize that the granular material at the asteroid’s surface would form characteristically different structures compared to granular material observed on most other asteroids due to non-negligible attraction forces between the magnetic particles due to the relative strength of the magnetic field compared to gravity. To construct a phase map of avalanching behavior given variable strength of cohesion forces to gravitational forces, we perform experiments using steel particles of different sizes subjected to an external magnetic field of variable strength during an avalanching event. To quantify changes in the equilibrium structure of the pile following the avalanche event, we quantify the angle of repose and the runout distance of the particles.