Experimental Study on the Solidification of Lunar Soil Simulant Using an Open-ended Microwave Heating Device
In situ improvement of mechanical properties of lunar soil is one of the preferred technical solutions for lunar surface construction.Based on the self-developed open-ended microwave heating device,the microwave solidifying experiment of lunar soil simulant was studied.The effects of different initial densities of lunar soil simulants and microwave treatment time on the microwave heating solidifying process were investigated.The macro and micro structural characteristics and mechanical properties of lunar soil simulants after microwave treatment were analyzed.The experimental results show that the lunar soil simulant samples after microwave treatment show obvious zoning characteristics.The sample can be divided into melting zone,sintering zone and non-sintering zone from the inside out.In the melting zone,minerals are melted and air holes are generated.The shape of the original mineral particles in the sintering area is difficult to be distinguished,and the density of the sample is improved.The original morphology of mineral particles in the unsintered area is well preserved,and the pore structure is obvi-ous.When the initial density of lunar soil simulant ranges from 1.5 g/cm3 to 1.7 g/cm3,the surface temperature of lunar soil simulant increases with the increase of initial density,while the occurrence time of melting zone decreases with the initial den-sity.However,when the initial density is greater than 1.7 g/cm3,the increase of the initial density has no obvious effect on shortening the time of melting zone.The results of nanoindentation test show that the mechanical properties of the molten part of the simulated lunar soil sample after microwave irradiation are evenly distributed in space,with an average hardness of 8.0 GPa and an average elastic modulus of 91.2 GPa.The spatial distribution of the mechanical properties of the sintered part of the sample is uneven,with an average hardness of 0.025 GPa and an average elastic modulus of 1.2 GPa.
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