Anuar, Abul and Honary, Farideh (2013) A study of dusty plasma environment. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.
Abstract
Future space explorations emphasize the need to understand the space environment in particular the effect they pose on crews and space-bound vehicles. One of such environment is the dusty plasma environment, where fine particles can be found in abundance. Dust particles interact with space plasma, get charged and are susceptible to the governing forces, hence are an important hazard to the space mission. This presents a challenge to accurately model the dust-plasma environment in order to predict and prepare crews and equipment for the harsh conditions. This thesis makes three specific contributions. Firstly, the design and development of the dust module in Spacecraft Plasma Interaction System (SPIS) as well as the validation process involved. The software is then used to study plasma behaviour and spacecraft charging in the vicinity of dust particles. Results presented shows the capability of the software to model the dust charging process and offers new observation on plasma properties in the vicinity of dust particles. The second contribution of this thesis is on the study of lunar surface charging and dust dynamics. Several simulations have been performed to investigate the lunar surface charging and the effects on dust dynamics, especially on dust transport on lunar surface. The results of this investigation undertaking dust motion on various type of surface topography and various solar wind and solar UV flux condition, suggest strong correlation between dust motion and surface potential, hence confirming previous studies. In addition, simulation results indicate the minimum dust charge to mass ratio for possible levitation to take place which has not been previously reported. Thirdly, several simulations are performed to investigate dust motion near space vehicle on lunar surface. Simulation reveals that the dust motion around the vehicle in the terminator and dayside exhibit distinguishable structures that has not been reported before.