Abstract
The in situ resource utilization of lunar regolith is of great significance for the development of planetary materials science and space manufacturing. The material extrusion deposition approach provides an advanced method for fabricating polylactide/lunar regolith simulant (PLA/CLRS-1) components. This work aims to fabricate 3D printed PLA–lunar regolith simulant (5 and 10 wt.%) components using the material extrusion 3D printing approach, and realize their solvent dissolution recycling process. The influence of the lunar regolith simulant on the mechanical and thermal properties of the 3D printed PLA/CLRS-1 composites is systematically studied. The microstructure of 3D printed PLA/CLRS-1 parts was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray computed tomography (XCT) analysis. The results showed that the lunar regolith simulant can be fabricated and combined with a PLA matrix utilizing a 3D printing process, only slightly influencing the mechanical performance of printed specimens. Moreover, the crystallization process of PLA is obviously accelerated by the addition of CLRS-1 because of heterogeneous nucleation. Additionally, by using gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) characterization, it is found that the 3D printing and recycling processes have a negligible influence on the chemical structure and molecular weight of the PLA/CLRS-1 composites. As a breakthrough, we successfully utilize the lunar regolith simulant to print components with satisfactory mechanical properties and confirm the feasibility of recycling and reusing 3D printed PLA/CLRS-1 components via the solvent dissolution recycling approach.
Highlights
Returning humans to the Moon has attracted the attention of the world’s leading space powers.Both China and the United States have announced their intention to conduct manned lunar exploration in the near future
The results showed that the lunar regolith simulant can be fabricated and combined with a PLA matrix utilizing a 3D printing process, only slightly influencing the mechanical performance of printed specimens
By using gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) characterization, it is found that the 3D printing and recycling processes have a negligible influence on the chemical structure and molecular weight of the PLA/CLRS-1 composites
Summary
Returning humans to the Moon has attracted the attention of the world’s leading space powers. Both China and the United States have announced their intention to conduct manned lunar exploration in the near future. Due to the long distance between Earth and the Moon, and the high transportation costs, in situ resource utilization (ISRU) has been recognized as a cost-effective and efficient approach for long-stay manned operations [1,2,3]. Lunar regolith, which covers the surface of the Moon, consists of fine particles with particle sizes smaller than 1 mm. Lunar regolith is thought to have been produced from the combined action of micrometeorites, charging particles and radiation.
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