Crater modification by gravity - A mechanical analysis of slumping

Abstract

An analysis of the stability of a crater from a mechanical point of view indicates that the observed slumping of lunar craters requires a perfectly plastic constitutive relation for the lunar surface rock. The angle of internal friction of this material must be less than a few degrees. The evidence for a perfectly plastic constitutive relation is described, and a simplified model of a crater in a perfectly plastic medium is used to investigate the nature of its collapse. Crater stability is found to depend principally upon a dimensionless parameter equal to the product of the density, acceleration of gravity, and depth divided by the yield strength. Criteria for stability, 'slope failures', and 'floor failures' are reported.