Microwave sintering is regarded as a high-efficiency, energy-saving, and rapid-heating technique for the preparation of structural materials on the Moon. However, the influencing factors (i.e., ilmenite content and sintering temperature) on microwave sintering processes are not well-understood. Herein, five lunar regolith simulants with different contents of ilmenite (i.e., 4.6%, 28.5%, 43.9%, 65.8%, and 80.9% by weight) were used for microwave sintering experiments at 1,050°C, 1,150°C, and 1,300°C. The characterization of the microstructure, mineralogy, thermal conductivity, and mechanical properties of the products shows that the ilmenite content and sintering temperature significantly affected the properties of the microwave-sintered products. The sintering product containing 4.6% by weight ilmenite at 1,300°C showed a dense texture, good thermal insulation properties (thermal conductivity of 0.15 ± 0.005    W m 1 K 1 ), and optimal compressive strength ( 74.0 ± 7.1    MPa ). This suggests that adding ilmenite to lunar regolith does not improve the properties of microwave-sintered products. The results in this paper provide reference for the preparation of structural materials on the Moon in the future.


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    Title :

    Effects of Ilmenite on the Properties of Microwave-Sintered Lunar Regolith Simulant


    Contributors:
    Zhou, Chuanjiao (author) / Tang, Hong (author) / Li, Xiongyao (author) / Zeng, Xiaojia (author) / Yu, Wen (author) / Mo, Bing (author) / Li, Rui (author) / Liu, Jianzhong (author) / Zou, Yongliao (author)

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2021-08-10




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    Unknown



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