Alhnoukh, Amin

Alkhateb, Hunain

Edmunson, Jennifer

Fikes, John

Fiske, Mike

Johnston, Mallory

Morris, Heather

Mueller, Rob

Townsend, Van

NASA Technical Reports Server

Additive Construction with Mobile Emplacement:
Multifaceted Planetary Construction Materials Development
Mike Fiske – Jacobs ESSCA/NASA MSFC
Rob Mueller – NASA KSC
Dr. Hunain Alkhateb – University of Mississippi
Dr. Amin Akhnoukh – East Carolina University
Heather Morris – Jacobs ESSCA/NASA MSFC
Van Townsend – Craig Technologies/NASA KSC
John Fikes – NASA MSFC
Mallory Johnston – NASA MSFCImage credit: NASA
Dr. Jennifer Edmunson
Jacobs ESSCA/NASA MSFC
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20180002468 2019-08-29T22:24:17+00:00Z
ACME: Background
• Additive Construction
• “The process of joining materials to create constructions from 3D 
model data” (Labonnote et al., 2016)
• brick stacking, powder bed printing, and liquid/slurry/paste extrusion
• 3D models allow fabrication of multiple types of structures – roads, 
berms, habitats, garages, hangars, etc. – with a single device
• Original work at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) 
2004-2007
• Contour Crafting, goal of using resources found in-situ on planetary 
surfaces
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
ACME: Background
• Interest from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) since 
2014
• Use locally available cement/concrete
• Work captured, co-funded by USACE and NASA/STMD/GCDP* (2015-2017)
• Additive Construction with Mobile Emplacement (ACME)
• Delivery of Additive Construction of Expeditionary Structures (ACES) system
• Materials work
• Paste type preferred
• Little to no construction waste
• No mortar and adhesive used between bricks
• No formwork
• Single feedstock delivery and emplacement system
• Scalable
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
*National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration / Space Technology 
Mission Directorate / Game 
Changing Development Program
ACME: Background – MSFC ACME-2
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
Gantry Mobility 
System
Mixer
Pump
Accumulator 
(allows pump to 
stay on when 
nozzle closes for 
doors/windows) Hose Nozzle
Image credit: NASA
ACME: Material Constraints
• Must be compatible with additive construction 
technologies
• Capable of being extruded, stacked, or emplaced layer by 
layer – predictably
• Avoid warping and shrinkage during cooling/curing
• Capable of being removed for system cleaning easily (or avoid 
cleaning by using a material such as thermoplastics)
• Capable of being pumped or moved through the system 
without easily damaging, clogging, or abrading system 
components
• Vibration
• Capable of mixing adequately and predictably
• Accurate dispensing and mixing ratios
• Capable of pressurization if pumped
• Consistency of a mix-specific viscosity
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
ACME: Material Constraints
• Must be composed of in-situ resources 
(reduce/eliminate cost of launching construction 
material)
• Resources are site-specific, must know what materials 
are available (and have adequate simulants)
• LARGE quantity of (processed) feedstock is needed
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
20m
2.5m
0.2m wall 
thickness
40m3 construction 
material (not including 
foundation or roof)
ACME: Material Constraints
• Must be composed of in-situ resources 
• Minimize the use of water
• Minimize the potential for deleterious chemical reactions
• Geology varies on small scales
• Mechanical binder for regolith grains is preferred (does not have to 
be a “precise mix”)
• Minimize the energy needed to mine the material
• Use loose surface regolith when possible
• The original composition dictates:
• Viscosity at given temperatures
• Extrudability / workability of the mixture
• Initial compressive strength, support subsequent layers
• Initial set time
• Layer adhesion
• Resistance to aging (degradation over time)
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
ACME: Material Constraints
• Must be compatible with (extreme) planetary 
surface environments
• Deposition
• Gravity
• Pressure at the surface
• Deposition and Aging
• Temperature swings
• Thermal expansion
• Aging
• Radiation (galactic cosmic rays, solar particle events)
• Solar wind
• Micrometeorite bombardment
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
ACME: Material Constraints
• Ability to provide necessary structural integrity
• Strength of the material (all aspects)
• Define accurate construction tolerances for thermal 
expansion and vapor loss
• Layer adhesion
• Durability in the environment
• Compatibility with human activities – must not be 
flammable, decompose, or become toxic when exposed 
to H2O, O2, or CO2 (unless lined)
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
ACME: Methodology
• Multiple materials are under study as planetary 
construction materials by multiple groups
• ACME materials research
• Kennedy Space Center – focus on minimally processed 
regolith
• Sintering
• Polymer/regolith simulant mixtures (polymer to be created 
from the CO2-rich atmosphere of Mars)
• Marshall Space Flight Center - focus on cementitious 
materials similar to USACE
• Planetary regolith simulant as aggregate
• Binders such as Ordinary Portland Cement, MgO-based 
cements, and sodium silicate
• Previous work with sulfur, polyethylene, and sintering
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
ACME: Methodology - MSFC
• Standard mixture
• Ordinary Portland 
Cement (OPC)
• Water
• Navitas (rheology control)
• Stucco mix (includes 
sand)
• Simulant mixture
• OPC
• Water
• Navitas
• Simulant (JSC Mars-1A)
• Stucco mix (includes 
sand)
JSC Mars-1A, 5mm and less in size
Image credit: NASA
All aggregate used was less than 64mm in size.
Mixes captured above were used for printing.  
Other mixtures were compression tested.
ACME: Methodology - MSFC
• Standard mixture defined viscosity for the ACME-2 
additive construction system (between 5 and 20 
Pa*s for OPC-based material)
• Pump-able mixture
• Retain cohesiveness
• Smooth extruded bead
• MgO-based binder also investigated but not utilized 
in the ACME-2 system
• Required constant vibration not possible in the ACME-2 
feedstock delivery system
• QUICK set-up time
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
ACME: Results to Date - MSFC
• Three samples were cast into 15.24cm x 15.24cm x 
2.54cm molds, one was 3D printed with Mars 
simulant aggregate
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
Martian simulant 
JSC Mars-1A, 
stucco mix, OPC, 
Navitas, and water
Martian simulant JSC Mars-1A, 
MgO-based cement, boric acid 
(set retardant) and water –
sample fractured during shipping 
to JSC prior to testing
Lunar simulant 
JSC-1A, stucco 
mix, OPC, Navitas, 
and water
Sample delaminated 
during shipping to JSC 
on a boundary 
between prints made 
on different days
Image credits: NASA
ACME: Results to Date - MSFC
• Hypervelocity impact tests were internally funded and 
performed at the White Sands Test Facility in Las 
Cruces, NM
• 2.0mm Al 2017-T4 (density 2.796g/cm3) impactor, 0.17-
caliber light gas gun, 0° impact angle, 1Torr N2 in 
chamber during test
• 7.0±0.2km/s velocity (approximate mean expected 
velocity of micrometeorites at the surface of Mars, and 
higher than expected velocity for bullets on Earth)
• Kinetic energy is equivalent to a micrometeorite with a 
density of 1g/cm3 and a diameter of 0.1mm traveling at 
a velocity of 10.36km/s, as well as a 9x17mm Browning 
Short bullet.
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
• Image scales are comparable
ACME: Results to Date - MSFC
Martian simulant JSC Mars-1A, 
stucco mix, OPC, Navitas, and water
Lunar simulant 
JSC-1A, stucco 
mix, OPC, Navitas, 
and water
Martian simulant 
JSC Mars-1A, MgO-
based cement, boric 
acid (set retardant) 
and water
Image credits: NASA
• Hypervelocity Impact Testing conclusions 
(Ordonez et al., 2017)
• MgO-based cement, in this formulation, is not as 
resistant to impact as OPC
• The projectile did not penetrate as deeply into the 
JSC-1A simulant-based mortar (compared to the JSC 
Mars-1A simulant-based mortar)
• Smaller grain size of JSC-1A simulant
• Makeup of JSC-1A simulant (grains not as porous as JSC 
Mars-1A simulant, crushed basalt versus weathered ash)
• More deleterious reactions in the JSC Mars-1A mortar?
• Layer adhesion issue
ACME: Results to Date - MSFC
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
• Grain size analysis/OPC binder - compression testing
• Standard 5.08cm cubes, 7 and 28 days
• Initial strength related to tricalcium silicate formation
• Ultimate strength related to dicalcium silicate formation
ACME: Results to Date - MSFC
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
Size Fraction (µm) JSC Mars-1A (kPa) JSC-1A (kPa) 
 7-Day 28-Day 7-Day 28-Day 
4000-5000 20339 32218   
2000-3999 21146 35584   
1000-1999 22111 32675   
500-999 21335 33515 20554 28244 
250-499 21949 35633 24728 34158 
125-249 25628 31905 21089 26170 
63-124 27802 34326 27820 37098 
<63 23939 29967 29367 37140 
Unsieved 22826 24383 27796 36092 
 • Tensile properties not measured but expected to be 
~10% of compression results
ACME: Results to Date - MSFC
• One more thing...
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results •      Next Steps      •
Image credit: NASA
ACME: Next Steps
• Investigate and characterize more binders
• Target specific proposed landing sites, generate (as accurately 
as possible) simulants, and mature binder fabrication and 
emplacement technologies
• Test them in replicated environments
• Thermal cycling, vacuum curing, etc.
• Establish building codes for planetary structures, and 
standards for additively constructed materials
• Set up an artificial neural network to help optimize 
these multifaceted, multifunctional materials
• Balance between the site-specific regolith composition, 
extreme environments, emplacement via additive 
technologies, and characteristics of the final structure
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results  •      Next Steps      •
ACME: Next Steps
• Optimization through trade studies / artificial neural 
network
• Grain size
• Compressive strength (including regolith load)
• Tensile strength
• Thermal conductivity
• Radiation protection (materials and/or regolith shell)
• Need for a skin/liner (pressurized?)
• Cost to produce
• Time to produce
• Aging
• Ability to be repaired
• Ability to cure in a specific planetary environment
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results  •      Next Steps      •
•      ACME •      Constraints •      Methodology •      Results  •      Next Steps      •
https://www.bradley.edu/sites/challenge/
Image credit: NASA
References and Acronyms
Labonnote, N., Ronnquist, A., Manum, B., Ruther, P. (2016) “Additive construction: State-of-the-art, challenges and 
opportunities”. Automation in Construction, 72(3), 347-366.
Ordonez, E., Edmunson, J., Fiske, M., Christiansen, E., Miller, J., Davis, B., Read, J., Johnston, M., and Fikes, J. (2017) 
“Hypervelocity impact testing of materials for additive construction: Applications on Earth, the Moon, and Mars”. 
Procedia Engineering, 204, 390-396.
3D – Three-dimensional
ACES – Additive Construction of Expeditionary Structures
ACME – Additive Construction with Mobile Emplacement
ESSCA – Engineering Services and Science Capability Augmentation (contract)
GCDP – Game Changing Development Program
JSC – Johnson Space Center
KSC – Kennedy Space Center
MSFC – Marshall Space Flight Center
NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration
OPC – Ordinary Portland Cement
STMD – Space Technology Mission Directorate
USACE – United States Army Corps of Engineers


Additive Construction with Mobile Emplacement: Multifaceted Planetary Construction Materials Development

Additive Construction with Mobile Emplacement: Multifaceted Planetary Construction Materials Development

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