Thermal properties of processed lunar regolith simulant |
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| Authors: | Miranda Fateri Reinhard Sottong Matthias Kolbe Julie Gamer Matthias Sperl Aidan Cowley |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institut für Materialphysik im Weltraum, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Köln, Germany;2. Institut für Werkstoff-Forschung, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Köln, Germany;3. European Astronaut Centre (EAC), Köln, Germany |
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| Abstract: | In this paper, the thermal characterization of lunar regolith simulant, sintered using a conventional oven under ambient and vacuum conditions is presented. Additionally, thermal characterization of samples is performed for the parts manufactured using solar, laser, and microwave processing. Samples for oven sintering are prepared using regolith bulk simulant as well as simulant pressed at 255 MPa for 10 minutes. Similar experiments are performed with a mixture of Johnson Space Center (JSC)-2A + 20 wt% of ilmenite, a common lunar mineral. Samples are characterized regarding their thermal capacity, thermal diffusivity, density, and thermal conductivity. Furthermore, sample morphology is studied using scanning electron microscopy. Lastly, processing of regolith for lunar thermal energy storage is discussed. |
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| Keywords: | ISRU moon regolith sintering thermal energy storage |
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