Digital Representation of Fine-Grained Rim Analogs using Image Processing

Fined-grained rims (FGRs) are porous structures of dust found in the bodies of carbonaceous chondrites. The attachment and compaction of dust on the surface of chondrules create a porous layer, which has been predicted to facilitate co-accretion with other chondrule compounds to happen within the solar nebula. Understanding the mechanisms of formation and evolution of FGRs would provide important information about the origin of planetesimals in the protoplanetary disk. Recent numerical modeling has simulated the initial porosity and rim structure for different turbulent gas environments. In order to obtain further insight into the dust accretion process, we are performing experiments that recreate the initial accretion and restructuring of dust grains on the surface of chondrule analogs for multiple velocity regimes.  The experimentally-formed dusty layers can be compared with the FGRs found in chondrites and those generated by numerical models. In order to analyze the rim, a set-up of high-speed cameras and laser sheets is used to image the dust layer as the dust is collected.  A sequence of image processing is used to analyze morphological elements of the rim such as porosity and topography.