Behaviour of lunar regolith simulants in fluidised bed reactors for in-situ resource utilisation

Grill, L.; Ostermeier, Peter; Würth, M.

doi:10.1016/j.pss.2019.104757

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The samples were dispersed in a Venturi nozzle at 2 bars of pressure in a compressed air stream. The cumulative distribution according to Grill et al [ 81 ] shows a shift towards larger particle sizes, whereas the curvature is very similar to the reference. The shift is mainly caused by the lower pressure of the dispersion air stream of 0.5 bar.…”

Section: Influence Of Measurement System On Particle Size Distributionsupporting

confidence: 64%

“…The particle size distribution (PSD) is an important factor, since it directly influences a lot of geotechnical properties such as the shear behavior (e.g., cohesion or flow), permeability, compaction, and porosity. Conventional methods to determine the PSD are, for instance, sieve analysis (ASTM D422, 2005) [ 77 ], laser diffraction [ 78 , 79 ], X-ray microtomography [ 80 ], and dynamic/static image analysis [ 81 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each sample was determined threefold. In addition, the cumulative distribution measured for TUBS-M by Grill et al [ 81 ] was discussed, which was determined using DIA (CAMSIZER X2, Microtrac Retsch GmbH, Haan, Germany).…”

Section: Influence Of Measurement System On Particle Size Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… Cumulative particle size distributions of TUBS-M determined with different methods and from different authors (also Grill et al [ 81 ]) compared to literature reference data of real lunar regolith [ 76 ]. Particle diameter equals particle size.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Geotechnical and Shear Behavior of Novel Lunar Regolith Simulants TUBS-M, TUBS-T, and TUBS-I

et al. 2022

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The return to the Moon is an important short-term goal of NASA and other international space agencies. To minimize mission risks, technologies, such as rovers or regolith processing systems, must be developed and tested on Earth using lunar regolith simulants that closely resemble the properties of real lunar soil. So far, no singular lunar simulant can cover the multitude of use cases that lunar regolith involves, and most available materials are poorly characterized. To overcome this major gap, a unique modular system for flexible adaptable novel lunar regolith simulants was developed and chemically characterized in earlier works. To supplement this, the present study provides comprehensive investigations regarding geotechnical properties of the three base regolith simulant systems: TUBS-M, TUBS-T, and TUBS-I. To evaluate the engineering and flow properties of these heterogeneous materials under various conditions, shear tests, particle size analyses, scanning electron microscope observations, and density investigations were conducted. It was shown that small grains <25 µm (lunar dust) are highly compressive and cohesive even at low external stress. They are particularly important as a large amount of fine dust is present in lunar regolith and simulants (x50 = 76.7 to 96.0 µm). Further, ring shear and densification tests revealed correlations with damage mechanisms caused by local stress peaks for grains in the mm range. In addition, an explanation for the occurrence of considerable differences in the literature-based data for particle sizes was established by comparing various measurement procedures. The present study shows detailed geotechnical investigations of novel lunar regolith simulants, which can be used for the development of equipment for future lunar exploration missions and in situ resource utilization under realistic conditions. The results also provide evidence about possible correlations and causes of known soil-induced mission risks that so far have mostly been described phenomenologically.

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Section: Influence Of Measurement System On Particle Size Distributionsupporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Influence Of Measurement System On Particle Size Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Geotechnical and Shear Behavior of Novel Lunar Regolith Simulants TUBS-M, TUBS-T, and TUBS-I

et al. 2022

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Toward the utilisation of resources in space: knowledge gaps, open questions, and priorities

2023

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There are many open science questions in space resource utilisation due to the novelty and relative immaturity of the field. While many potential technologies have been proposed to produce usable resources in space, high confidence, large-scale design is limited by gaps in the knowledge of the local environmental conditions, geology, mineralogy, and regolith characteristics, as well as specific science questions intrinsic to each process. Further, the engineering constraints (e.g. energy, throughput, efficiency etc.) must be incorporated into the design. This work aims to summarise briefly recent activities in the field of space resource utilisation, as well as to identify key knowledge gaps, and to present open science questions. Finally, future exploration priorities to enable the use of space resources are highlighted.

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Mineral Processing and Metal Extraction on the Lunar Surface - Challenges and Opportunities

Shaw

Humbert

Brooks

et al. 2021

Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review

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Behaviour of lunar regolith simulants in fluidised bed reactors for in-situ resource utilisation

Cited by 3 publications

References 12 publications

Geotechnical and Shear Behavior of Novel Lunar Regolith Simulants TUBS-M, TUBS-T, and TUBS-I

Geotechnical and Shear Behavior of Novel Lunar Regolith Simulants TUBS-M, TUBS-T, and TUBS-I

Toward the utilisation of resources in space: knowledge gaps, open questions, and priorities

Mineral Processing and Metal Extraction on the Lunar Surface - Challenges and Opportunities

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