Development of lunar regolith-based composite for <i>in</i>-<i>situ</i> 3D printing via high-pressure extrusion system

doi:10.1007/s11465-022-0745-8

Front. Mech. Eng.

2023, Vol. 18

Issue (2) : 29 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-022-0745-8

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Development of lunar regolith-based composite for in-situ 3D printing via high-pressure extrusion system

Hua ZHAO¹, Jihong ZHU^1,²(

), Shangqin YUAN^1,³(

), Shaoying LI¹, Weihong ZHANG¹

¹. State IJR Center of Aerospace Design and Additive Manufacturing, School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
². Key Laboratory of Metal High Performance Additive Manufacturing and Innovative Design, MIIT China, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
³. Unmanned System Research Institute, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China

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Abstract

To fully utilize the in-situ resources on the moon to facilitate the establishment of a lunar habitat is significant to realize the long-term residence of mankind on the moon and the deep space exploration in the future. Thus, intensive research works have been conducted to develop types of 3D printing approach to adapt to the extreme environment and utilize the lunar regolith for in-situ construction. However, the in-situ 3D printing using raw lunar regolith consumes extremely high energy and time. In this work, we proposed a cost-effective melting extrusion system for lunar regolith-based composite printing, and engineering thermoplastic powders are employed as a bonding agent for lunar regolith composite. The high-performance nylon and lunar regolith are uniformly pre-mixed in powder form with different weight fractions. The high-pressure extrusion system is helpful to enhance the interface affinity of polymer binders with lunar regolith as well as maximize the loading ratio of in-situ resources of lunar regolith. Mechanical properties such as tensile strength, elastic modulus, and Poisson’s ratio of the printed specimens were evaluated systematically. Especially, the impact performance was emphasized to improve the resistance of the meteorite impact on the moon. The maximum tensile strength and impact toughness reach 36.2 MPa and 5.15 kJ/m², respectively. High-pressure melt extrusion for lunar regolith composite can increase the effective loading fraction up to 80 wt.% and relatively easily adapt to extreme conditions for in-situ manufacturing.

Keywords in-situ resource utilization melt extrusion molding lunar regolith-based composites mechanical properties additive manufacturing

Corresponding Author(s): Jihong ZHU,Shangqin YUAN

About author: ^* These authors contributed equally to this work.

Just Accepted Date: 13 December 2022 Issue Date: 30 June 2023

Cite this article:

Hua ZHAO,Jihong ZHU,Shangqin YUAN, et al. Development of lunar regolith-based composite for in-situ 3D printing via high-pressure extrusion system[J]. Front. Mech. Eng., 2023, 18(2): 29.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fme/EN/10.1007/s11465-022-0745-8
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fme/EN/Y2023/V18/I2/29

Tab.1 Weight fraction with material composition of lunar regolith and simulants

Fig.1 Particle size distribution of lunar regolith simulant.

Fig.2 Schematic diagram of the printer for the lunar regolith composite: (a) piston-based pellet extruder and (b) screw-based pellet extruder.

Fig.3 Geometric parameters of the standard specimens for mechanical testing: (a) tensile specimen and (b) impact specimen.

Tab.2 Process parameters for tensile specimen fabrication

Fig.4 Schematic diagram of the internal infill pattern and path for the tensile specimen: (a) infill pattern and (b) 45°/?45° rectilinear infill path.

Tab.3 Process parameters for impact specimen fabrication

Fig.5 Schematic diagram of the internal infill path for the impact specimen: (a) 45°/?45° rectilinear infill path and (b) 0°/90° rectilinear infill path.

Tab.4 Melting and recrystallization properties of PA12-Basalt composite powders

Fig.6 Differential scanning calorimetry curves of lunar regolith composite powder at different basalt weight fractions.

Tab.5 Decomposition properties of PA12-Basalt composite powders

Fig.7 Thermogravimetric analysis curves of lunar regolith composite at different basalt weight fractions: (a) PA12-Basalt40wt.%, (b) PA12-Basalt50wt.%, and (c) PA12-Basalt60wt.%.

Fig.8 Scanning electron microscope images of lunar regolith composite powders: (a) PA12-Basalt40wt.%, (b) PA12-Basalt50wt.%, and (c) PA12-Basalt60wt.%.

Tab.6 Mechanical properties of tensile specimens under different process parameters

Fig.9 Horizontal and tangential micromorphology of printed specimens: (a) PA12-Basalt40wt.%, (b) PA12-Basalt50wt.%, and (c) PA12-Basalt60wt.%.

Fig.10 Effects of weight fraction on tensile mechanical properties with (a) 225 °C, (b) 230 °C, and (c) 235 °C.

Fig.11 Effects of printing temperature on tensile mechanical properties with (a) PA12-Basalt40wt.%, (b) PA12-Basalt50wt.%, and (c) PA12-Basalt60wt.%.

Fig.12 Stress?strain curves for the tensile specimens under different printing speed (3 days) with (a) PA12-Basalt40wt.%, (b) PA12-Basalt50wt.%, and (c) PA12-Basalt60wt.%.

Fig.13 Stress?strain curves for the tensile specimens under different printing speed (30 days) with (a) PA12-Basalt40wt.%, (b) PA12-Basalt50wt.%, and (c) PA12-Basalt60wt.%.

Fig.14 Impact testing results of lunar regolith composite at different basalt weight fractions: (a) absorbed energy and (b) impact toughness.

Fig.15 Platform of screw-based pellet extruder: (a) schematic platform, (b) physical platform, (c) infrared image of the heated nozzle, (d, e) printed lunar habitat model, (f) printing process, (g) printed honeycomb structure, and (h) printed board structure.

Tab.7 Process parameters of screw-based pellet extrusion

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