Numerical simulation of impact cratering and induced seismic waves in sand targets

Impact cratering plays a crucial role in shaping the surfaces of small bodies, satellites, and planets, providing insights into their formation and the history of the Solar System. Small bodies are often covered with low-cohesion regolith. Using sand as a model of regolith, we constructed a numerical model for simulating impact on a sand target to investigate the mechanisms of crater formation and impact-induced seismic waves. Soda-lime glass and quartz sand targets were used for comparison. The developed sand model successfully reproduced the sound velocity measured in an experimental study. Using the new sand model, the crater formation was simulated using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics with a material strength parameter. The crater radius and π -scaling law derived from the numerical simulation were consistent with the experimental study. The vertical acceleration around the surface of the crater was consistent with the experimentally measured acceleration for the impact-induced seismic wave. The developed model can provide insight for predicting the size of craters on unknown small bodies. • Impact on a sand target was simulated using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics with a material parameter to investigate the mechanism of crater formation and impact-induced seismic waves. • The sand target model comprised closed-packed spheres, where the simulated sound velocity was consistent with the experiment. • Crater sizes and power law for gravity regime derived from impact simulations using glass and quartz sand targets were consistent with the experiments. • Simulated acceleration of the crater’s surface was consistent with the measured by value in the impact-induced seismic wave experiment.