Electrostatic Interactions between Rough Dielectric Particles: Implications for the Lunar Dust Problem

We present the results of a study investigating the electrostatic interactions between rough particles. A Boundary Element Method has been implemented to calculate the distribution of surface charge on rough non-spherical particles and the resulting electrostatic force and potential energy. The local surface curvature can significantly modify the local charge distribution and alter the particle-particle interactions. To provide statistical parameterization of this interaction, we systematically study the electrostatic force between a pair of generic rough particles with different roughness feature sizes and relative orientations. This framework will potentially help to understand the complex interplay between roughness and electrostatic interactions for both highly jagged and charged lunar regolith particles and the irregular biomass particles that are triboelectrically charged in gasification process.