Characterization of Martian Shergottite NWA 12594 for dynamic compression studies

Characterizing the dynamic response of multi-phase materials is computationally and experimentally challenging but of interest to both industrial and scientific communities. For complex materials, we need to consider the contribution of physical properties of individual phases to the bulk response. Thus, creating a need to develop and verify mixture models that can predict the response of multi-phase materials, reducing the need for an excessive number of experiments on diverse materials. To this end, we present preliminary results on the characterization of Martian shergottite NWA 12594 using Raman spectroscopy and segmented computed tomography scans. These data will be incorporated into Sandia National Laboratories’ solid mechanics code, CTH, to support the development of a workflow for simulating complex materials in alignment with planned experiments. Ultimately, we aim to compare our results with seismic data from the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) deployed by NASA’s InSIGHT lander on Mars. Future work will extend this approach to rocks across the solar system to investigate the effects of microstructure on their equations of state.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. This work describes objective technical results and analysis. Any subjective views or opinions that might be expressed in the work do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Energy or the United States Government.