Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 30-41 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Acta astronautica |
| Volume | 228 |
| Early online date | 29 Nov 2024 |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2025 |
Abstract
The construction of a lunar base requires a huge amount of material, which cannot be entirely transported from Earth. Therefore, technologies are needed to build with locally available resources, such as the lunar regolith. One approach is to directly melt the lunar regolith on the surface and under the vacuum condition of the Moon, using laser radiation. In this article, a lunar regolith simulant is laser beam melted to two-dimensional single-layer-structures using different ambient pressures from 0.05 mbar to 2000 mbar, laser process parameters from 60 W to 100 W laser power, and 1 mm s−1 to 3 mm s−1 feed rates. Additionally, the influence of the ambient gas was investigated using argon as an air alternative. The results show that the ambient pressure on the Moon is not negligible when studying the melting processes of lunar regolith on Earth. With decreasing ambient pressure, the appearance of the melted regolith simulant varies from a shiny to a matt surface. At the highest laser energy density, the thickness of a single-layer increases from 2.6 ± 0.4 mm to 5.3 ± 0.3 mm and the porosity of the melted regolith increases from 17.2 % to 52.2 % with decreasing ambient pressure. Additionally, mechanical properties are determined using 3-point bending tests. The maximum bending strength decreases by 60 % with the increased ambient pressure from 10 mbar to 2000 mbar. Consequently, the development of in-situ resource utilization technologies, which process the lunar regolith directly on the lunar surface, must consider the ambient pressure on the Moon. Otherwise, the processes will not work as expected from the experiments in Earth-based laboratories.
Keywords
- Construction on the moon, In-situ resource utilization, Laser beam melting, Lunar regolith, Vacuum
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Engineering(all)
- Aerospace Engineering
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In: Acta astronautica, Vol. 228, 03.2025, p. 30-41.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Influence of ambient pressure on laser beam melting of lunar regolith simulant
AU - Griemsmann, Tjorben
AU - Patzwald, Joel
AU - Chawda, Chetan
AU - Eismann, Tim
AU - Abel, Arvid
AU - Emminghaus, Nicole
AU - Hermsdorf, Jörg
AU - Stoll, Enrico
AU - Overmeyer, Ludger
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors
PY - 2025/3
Y1 - 2025/3
N2 - The construction of a lunar base requires a huge amount of material, which cannot be entirely transported from Earth. Therefore, technologies are needed to build with locally available resources, such as the lunar regolith. One approach is to directly melt the lunar regolith on the surface and under the vacuum condition of the Moon, using laser radiation. In this article, a lunar regolith simulant is laser beam melted to two-dimensional single-layer-structures using different ambient pressures from 0.05 mbar to 2000 mbar, laser process parameters from 60 W to 100 W laser power, and 1 mm s−1 to 3 mm s−1 feed rates. Additionally, the influence of the ambient gas was investigated using argon as an air alternative. The results show that the ambient pressure on the Moon is not negligible when studying the melting processes of lunar regolith on Earth. With decreasing ambient pressure, the appearance of the melted regolith simulant varies from a shiny to a matt surface. At the highest laser energy density, the thickness of a single-layer increases from 2.6 ± 0.4 mm to 5.3 ± 0.3 mm and the porosity of the melted regolith increases from 17.2 % to 52.2 % with decreasing ambient pressure. Additionally, mechanical properties are determined using 3-point bending tests. The maximum bending strength decreases by 60 % with the increased ambient pressure from 10 mbar to 2000 mbar. Consequently, the development of in-situ resource utilization technologies, which process the lunar regolith directly on the lunar surface, must consider the ambient pressure on the Moon. Otherwise, the processes will not work as expected from the experiments in Earth-based laboratories.
AB - The construction of a lunar base requires a huge amount of material, which cannot be entirely transported from Earth. Therefore, technologies are needed to build with locally available resources, such as the lunar regolith. One approach is to directly melt the lunar regolith on the surface and under the vacuum condition of the Moon, using laser radiation. In this article, a lunar regolith simulant is laser beam melted to two-dimensional single-layer-structures using different ambient pressures from 0.05 mbar to 2000 mbar, laser process parameters from 60 W to 100 W laser power, and 1 mm s−1 to 3 mm s−1 feed rates. Additionally, the influence of the ambient gas was investigated using argon as an air alternative. The results show that the ambient pressure on the Moon is not negligible when studying the melting processes of lunar regolith on Earth. With decreasing ambient pressure, the appearance of the melted regolith simulant varies from a shiny to a matt surface. At the highest laser energy density, the thickness of a single-layer increases from 2.6 ± 0.4 mm to 5.3 ± 0.3 mm and the porosity of the melted regolith increases from 17.2 % to 52.2 % with decreasing ambient pressure. Additionally, mechanical properties are determined using 3-point bending tests. The maximum bending strength decreases by 60 % with the increased ambient pressure from 10 mbar to 2000 mbar. Consequently, the development of in-situ resource utilization technologies, which process the lunar regolith directly on the lunar surface, must consider the ambient pressure on the Moon. Otherwise, the processes will not work as expected from the experiments in Earth-based laboratories.
KW - Construction on the moon
KW - In-situ resource utilization
KW - Laser beam melting
KW - Lunar regolith
KW - Vacuum
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85210638437&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.actaastro.2024.11.057
DO - 10.1016/j.actaastro.2024.11.057
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85210638437
VL - 228
SP - 30
EP - 41
JO - Acta astronautica
JF - Acta astronautica
SN - 0094-5765
ER -