Combustible Mixtures of Lunar Regolith with Metals: Thermodynamic Analysis and Combustion Experiments

Abstract

Construction materials could be produced in situ on the surface of the moon or Mars by combustion of regolith mixed with metals such as aluminum and magnesium. In the present paper, the adiabatic flame temperature and combustion products were calculated for the mixtures of JSC-1A lunar regolith simulant with aluminum and magnesium, aswell aswith a titanium/boron pair. It was shown that at the additive concentrations of 20–30wt%, the reaction between titanium and boron provides a lower adiabatic flame temperature of themixture as compared with the thermite-type reaction between regolith and aluminum or magnesium. Also, magnesium exhibits higher temperatures as compared with aluminum. Themaximum temperatures for aluminum andmagnesium are reached at 23 and 26wt%, respectively. Combustion ofmagnesium/JSC-1Amixture pellets was studied experimentally in an argon environment. To facilitate ignition and achieve stable combustion, the original JSC-1A powder was ground in aballmill. It was shown that, with increasing themilling time of JSC-1A, the combustion front velocity ofMg/JSC-1A mixture increases. A decrease in argon pressure from 90 to 10 kPa does not influence the front velocity.