Experimental and numerical study of the accretion of chondrule rims

Introduction: Fine-grained dust rims (FGRs) around sub-millimeter-sized chondrules act as the “glue” that enables chondrules to stick together [1]. In turn, centimeter-sized objects formed by agglomerates of rimmed chondrules may constitute the building blocks of asteroid parent bodies [2]. FGR fabrics contain critical information regarding the local dynamics of the solar nebula, particularly the strength of nebular turbulence and the electrical charge of dust grains. Current experimental techniques have advanced to the point that FGR porosity, thickness and grain alignment in meteorite samples can be used to infer FGR morphology at the time of rim accretion [e.g., 3-5]. Numerical modeling of the growth of FGRs can then be used to link measurements of fabric and porosity of primitive FGRs to the statistics of turbulent dust-chondrule collisions, taking into account the effect of possible surface electrical charges. Here, we present an approach for examination of the nebular formation of FGRs through a combination of numerical modeling and laboratory measurements of chondrule FGRs.