Heterogeneous Grain Destruction Near the Sun

Catastrophic fracture of heterogeneous grains consisting of refractory matrix and trapped icy inclusions is examined. As such a grain approaches the Sun after release from the comet, the saturation pressure of icy inclusions increases, and finally exceeds the crack-extension-force necessary for onset of unstable fast fracturing. Subsequently a growth of cracks results in a facture of the grain. The calculation revealed that obsidian and magnetite grain, respectively, of radius 100 Μm with 10% water-ice inclusions in volume suddenly disrupt near the solar distance of 0.25 AU and of 0.6 AU. Since the small debris of fragmentation comes from the direction of the sun on a relatively higher eccentric orbit, this fragmentation mechanism seems favourable to explain the β-meteoroids observed at 1 AU.