In this paper, we would revisit the usability of microwave for lunar regolith sintering through an in-depth experiment, and examine the minimum materials and energy required for sintering based on the SinterHab design. This will include the minimum layers to print, estimated printing time, minimum energy required for the sintering process and the potential energy sources

Anand, M.

Lim, S.

Rousek, T.

English

Open Research Online 

Open Research OnlineThe Open University’s repository of research publicationsand other research outputsEstimation of energy and material use ofsintering-based construction for a lunar outpost - withthe example of SinterHab module designConference or Workshop ItemHow to cite:Lim, S.; Anand, M. and Rousek, T. (2015). Estimation of energy and material use of sintering-based construction fora lunar outpost - with the example of SinterHab module design. In: 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference(LPSC), LPSC, article no. 1076.For guidance on citations see FAQs.c© 2015 The AuthorsVersion: Version of RecordLink(s) to article on publisher’s website:http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2015/pdf/1076.pdfCopyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyrightowners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policiespage.oro.open.ac.ukESTIMATION OF ENERGY AND MATERIAL USE OF SINTERING-BASED CONSTRUCTION FOR A LUNAR OUTPOST – WITH THE EXAMPLE OF SINTERHAB MODULE DESIGN.  S. Lim1, M. Anand2 and T. Rousek3, 1Department of Engineering and Innovation, Faculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK, Email: sungwoo.lim@open.ac.uk, 2Department of Physical Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK, Email: ma-hesh.anand@open.ac.uk, 3A-ETC, UK, Email: tomas.rousek@a-etc.net.   Introduction:  Various space agencies including NASA and ESA are currently engaged in preliminary studies for alternative space habitat systems for deep-space exploration, harnessing advanced technologies for planetary surface use, including mobility, deploy-ment and the use of local resources [1]. Thus, plans are being considered for launching a series of lunar mis-sions over the next decade ranging from orbiters, landers and rovers for extended stays on the lunar sur-face. One of the main reasons for focusing on the Moon is its pivotal role as a first stepping-stone for setting up human outposts, laboratories and observato-ries beyond the Earth and low-Earth orbit [2], and thereafter to Mars, eventually leading to exploration beyond the solar system.  Over the last decade, Space Architecture – the the-ory and practice of designing and building an envi-ronment for humans in outer space [3] – has become an emerging issue in the context of future space explo-ration, and is increasingly seen as a fundamental re-quirement for supporting long-term space settlement and exploration on other planetary bodies. Additive Manufacturing (AM, a.k.a. 3D Printing) is a layered process joining materials to make objects from 3D model data. Recently, a few researchers [4-6] success-fully demonstrated the potential of AM in a construc-tion process, thus Space Architecture researchers re-gard automated AM as a key technology for construc-tion of In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU)-derived human habitation and infrastructure, including radia-tion protection cover, surface paving, bridges, dust-shield walls and spacecraft landing-fields on extrater-restrial surfaces [1-7]. The groundbreaking research in this area will help to address important challenges of alternative construction processes and materials in ex-treterrestrial environments particularly on the Moon. Sintering of Lunar Simulant:  Lunar regolith con-tains various chemical and mineralogical resources – an area of lunar science of considerable importance for ISRU investigations [8]. For example, the native Fe (elemental Fe0) abundance in the regolith is at least ten times greater than in the rocks from which it is formed [9]. Recently, the interest in exploiting the lunar rego-lith as a construction material [10, 11] has been in-creased, including previous investigations into setting up lunar outposts have focused on developing conven-tional cement [12-14], concrete [15, 16], brick [17] and sulphur-based concrete [18, 19] using lunar regolith simulants.  Some researchers have investigated the potential of lunar regolith sintering using a high-powered laser and/or microwave, as the natural lunar regolith is po-tentially an excellent construction material, as it mostly consists of soil (≤ 1 cm) and dust (≤ 20 µm) particles which require only mechanical sieving, without crush-ing. Kingery [20] proposed that the complex morphol-ogy of raw lunar regolith might be more suitable for sintering because its glass portion could assist in densi-fication during sintering. Similarly, Taylor [21] pro-posed that raw lunar regolith is a strong microwave absorber due to the presence of nanophase iron (np-Fe0), indicating its suitability for microwave sintering. He observed that microwave energy is easily deposited into a regolith depth of around 65 cm at low tempera-ture, while the half-power depth of penetration de-creases as temperature increases. Recent studies in-volving sintering of lunar simulant found that micro-waves could melt the lunar simulant up to 13.4 mm depth [22] while a solar-concentrator could melt up to 6 mm depth [23].  Lunar outpost Design - SinterHab: One of the most recent conceptual designs for lunar outpost is SinterHab. SinterHab is a design concept of a habitat module at the lunar south pole in the Shackleton Crater, which can be constructed using a sintering-based AM process and partial ISRU [1]. The module was designed as a hybrid concept for 4 to 8 mission crews by combining inflatable membrane and rigid structures with a sintered regolith cover for enhanced radiation and micrometeorite protection (Fig 1). In this module concept, counter-pressure ribs are constructed by sintering around inflatable core module before in-flation of membranes. Then the protection cover is sintered using lunar regolith over the ribs and deployed membrane strucrture (Fig. 2). The floor area per person (34 m2) and the volume of the core module (1,220 m3) was estimated according to an average requirement of long-term living in confined habitats including a bi-ogenerative life-support for the crew members from other modules, i.e. 120 m3 [24]. The protection cover was designed with variable thickness ranging from 0.7 to 2.6 m with the total volume of 1,580 m3. The main drivers for the cover form of the module are the prop-erties of microwave sintering and the robotic construc-tion process.  Fig 1. 3D rendered image of SinterHab visualizing the inflated compartments and counter-pressure ribs. [1]  Fig 2. Assembly order of the core module, counter-pressure ribs and regolith cover from left. [1] The bulk density of lunar regoligh near the surface is around 900 to 1100 kg/m3 while it reaches a maxi-mum value of 1900 kg/m3 [25] at a couple of meters depth, which is similar to lightweight concrete (1440 to 1840 kg/m3). The total weight of the protection cover after sintering would depend on fabrication methods, e.g. bone-inspired celluar structure (Fig 3) or rigid structure, etc. Recent study from ESA [11] revealed a potential biomimicry design concept of closed form structure from human bones (Fig. 3), which traps bulk lunar regolith into the sintered cells for increasing shielding properties from cosmic rays and micromete-oroids. This design would promise less weight of the protection cover while sustain its high strengths.   Fig 3. Closed form structure. Left – Rendered image of the concept; Right – Printed block (1 by 2 m footprint) using a lunar simulant developed by D-Shape. [11] Discussion:  In this contribution, we would revisit the usability of microwave for lunar regolith sintering through an in-depth experiment, and examine the min-imum materials and energy required for sintering based on the SinterHab design. This will include the mini-mum layers to print, estimated printing time, minimum energy required for the sintering process and the poten-tial energy sources.  Due to the current upsurge of interest in Space Ar-chitecture, we are embarking on a multi-disciplinary research project to integrate our existing expertise in 3D Concrete Printing [6] and knowledge of ISRU po-tential on the Moon [8] to perform a series of experi-ments using lunar simulants to optimize 3D printing process and its potential application to building struc-tures and components on the Moon in the context of future habitation of the Moon.  References: [1] Rousek, T., Eriksson, K. and Doule, O., (2012) Acta Astronaut, 74, 98-111. [2] Metzger, P.T., et al., (2013) J AEROSPACE ENG, 26(1), 18-29. [3] Millennium Charter, (2002) Space Architecture workshop, Huston, USA. [4] Khoshnevis, B., et al., (2006) Int J IND & SYS ENG, 1(3), 301-320. [5] Dini, E., (2009) http://www.d-shape.com/ [6] Lim, S., et al., (2012) Automat Constr, 21(1), 262-268. [7] Howe, A.S., et al., (2013) AIAA Space Conference, San Diego, USA. [8] Anand, M., et al., (2012) PLANET SPACE SCI, 74(1), 42-48. [9] Taylor, L.A., (1988) Engineering, Construction, and operations in space I, ASCE, New York, 67-77. [10] Khoshnevis, B. and Zhang, J., (2012) The 23rd Annual International Solid Freeform (SFF) Symposium, Austin, TX, 250-259. [11] Cesaretti, G., (2012) Final Report (3DP-ALT-RP-0001), ESA. [12] Agosto, W.N., Wickman, J.H. and James, E., (1988) SPACE 88, ASCE, New York, 157-168. [13] Yong, J.F. and Berger, R.L. (1988) SPACE 88, ASCE, New York. [14] Lin, T.D. and Bhattacharja, S. (1998) Space 98, ASCE, New York, 592-600. [15] Lin, T.D. (1987) Concrete International (ACI), 9(7), 48-53. [16] Namba, H., et al., (1988) SPACE 88, ASCE, New York, 169-177. [17] Strenski, D., et al., (1990) SPACE 90, ASCE, New York, 458- 467. [18] Leonard, R.S. and Johnson, S.W. (1988) SPACE 88, ASC, New York, 1295-1307. [19] Casanova, I. and Gracia, V. (1998) Space 98, New York, 585-591. [20] Kingery, W.D., Bowen, H.K., and Uhlmann, D.R. (1976) Introduction to ceramics. 2nd ed, New York, Wiley. [21] Taylor, L.A. and Meek, T.T. (2005) J AEROSPACE ENG, 18(3), 188-196. [22] Allan, S., et al., (2013) J AEROSPACE ENG, 26(1), 143-151. [23] Hintze, P.E. and Quintana, S., (2013) J AEROSPACE ENG, 26(1), 134-142. [24] Benaroya, H. and Bernold L., (2008) Acta Astronaut, 62, 277-299. [25] Benaroya, H., (2010) Lunar Settlements, CRC Press.  

Estimation of energy and material use of sintering-based construction for a lunar outpost - with the example of SinterHab module design

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Estimation of energy and material use of sintering-based construction for a lunar outpost - with the example of SinterHab module design

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