LUNAR REGOLITH COTTON- AUGMENTED REINFORCED CONCRETE Eshaan Ade , Aerospace Engineering and Space Physics Jackson Cieloha , Mechanical Engineering
Nolan Harju , Aerospace Engineering Robert Labagh , Aerospace Engineering Bergen Lien, Aerospace Engineering Matthew B Nakai , Aerospace Engineering Gavin Sorenson , Mechanical Engineering Ches Lee Webb , Aerospace Engineering Samuel Yang Aerospace Engineering Ruben Yoder , Aerospace Engineering
MENTORS Hadi Ali , Aerospace Engineering Teresa Eaton , Biology and Chemistry
Long-duration crewed operations on the lunar surface will require sustainable waste management and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) to reduce launch mass and large dependence on resupply from Earth. They will also require manufacturing methods for infrastructure such as landing pads, roads, and habitat shielding. The Lunar regolith cotton-Augmented Reinforced Concrete (LunARC) project is developing a system for the NASA LunaRecycle program To convert waste from lunar astronauts into useful lunar construction materials. LunARC recycles two items, cotton garments and reclosable low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic bags. These fibers are combined with lunar regolith to produce lunar concrete (lunarcrete). Cotton garments are shredded, mercerized, and added to the lunarcrete mix, increasing its tensile strength. Recycled LDPE is shredded into pellets and mixed into the lunar regolith, serving as a binder similar to water in concrete production on Earth. The resulting lunarcrete mix provides higher tensile strength than current lunarcrete manufacturing methods while using almost completely in-situ resources and recycled materials. LunARC builds on research previously conducted that demonstrated the concepts of fiber reinforcement and the use of LDPE as a binder independently. Furthermore, LunARC will be performing testing on smaller manufactured lunarcrete bricks made with lunar highland simulant (LHS-1). The bricks will be manufactured using mercerized cotton and LDPE and will undergo tensile strength testing. Testing will be performed utilizing the Brazilian tensile strength test, which compresses a disc- shaped piece of lunarcrete on opposite sides of the lunarcrete’s surface until it splits in half. By combining recycled cotton fiber reinforcement and LDPE polymer binding with lunar regolith, LunARC demonstrates a sustainable and novel approach to producing structurally enhanced lunar construction materials that reduce reliance on Earth-based resupply for long-duration lunar missions. E-PRIZE AWARD
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