Simulating asteroid rubble piles with a self-gravitating soft-sphere distinct element method model

Abstract

This paper applies a soft-sphere distinct element method Granular Dynamics code to simulate asteroid regolith and rubble piles. Applications to regolith studies in low gravity are also studied. Then an algorithm to calculate self-gravity is derived and incorporated for full-scale simulations of rubble-pile asteroids using Granular Dynamics techniques. To test its validity, the algorithm's results are compared with the exact direct calculation of the gravitational forces. Further avenues to improve the performance of the algorithm are also discussed. © 2011. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.