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Project # 37
Building the Foundations for Lunar Immigration Plan
| Team Lead: | Phi Tran |
| Other Team Members: | Edgar Diaz |
| Faculty Advisor(s): | Yao Wang |
| Department: | CE |
| Project Type: | REU |
| Title: | Building the Foundations for Lunar Immigration Plan |
| Abstract: | NASA's objective to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon by 2020 has not yet been realized; however, the long-term goal of constructing a permanent lunar base remains a strategic priority. A major challenge in achieving this lies in developing suitable building materials that can withstand the Moon's harsh environment while minimizing reliance on costly Earth-based transportation. In this context, lunar regolith is a promising candidate due to its abundance and favorable mechanical properties. Considering the scarcity of water and the intense radiative energy on the lunar surface, this study investigates the potential of the sintering process to convert particulate regolith simulant into load-bearing solid materials. Through both the fundamental concept of the sintering process and experimental validation of its feasibility, the student team will compare the effects of different sintering temperatures on the quality of the sintered samples to provide energy-efficient approach. Inspired by the success of nanoparticles in enhancing cementitious materials, this work will further explore the incorporation of carbon nanotubes to improve the compressive strength of sintered lunar regolith simulants, aligning with sustainable design principles. Finally, a composite material model based on the self-consistent method will be developed to effectively predict the mechanical modulus of the solidified lunar construction materials |
| Poster: | View Poster #37 (PDF) |
| Judges Scoring: | Submit Evaluation (judges only) |