Student Name: Korbin Hansen

Advisor: Dr. Masatoshi Hirabayashi

Milestone: MS Thesis Proposal

Degree Program: Aerospace Engineering

Title: Computing the Internal Temperature Distribution of Asteroids Using Finite Element Methods

Abstract: A method to survey the water content of asteroids with established shape models is proposed. The extent to which asteroids are hydrated strongly depends on their respective internal temperature distributions. These distributions are computed using a thermophysical finite element model. To account for uncertainties in ground observations and to identify general trends, thermophysical simulations include variations across five parameters---equivalent diameter, thermal conductivity, Bond albedo, specific heat capacity, and spin pole ecliptic latitude and longitude. Variable heat capacity and conductivity are proposed as a modification to improve simulation accuracy. The proposed methodology has been applied to assess the water content of the asteroid 1998 KY26, concluding that across all thermophysical parameter variations, water outgassing rates are too high for it to presently host water.

Date and time: 2026-11-30, 2:00 PM 

Location: ESM 108

Committee:
Dr. Masatoshi Hirabayashi (advisor), School of Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Masatoshi Hirabayashi, School of Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Christopher Carr, School of Aerospace Engineering
Dr. James Wray, School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
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