Abstract
Fabricating and repairing techniques based on the combustion of thermite mixtures are of great interest for space applications due to the low-energy consumption and self-sustained behavior of the involved chemical reactions. Two such techniques investigated in the present paper are exothermic welding and the combustion-based production of structural materials from lunar regolith. In both cases, the occurring combustion of thermite-type mixtures may be affected by reduced gravity. In the present paper, experiments on the exothermic welding of copper rods and on the combustion of a lunar regolith simulant mixed with magnesium were conducted during the parabolic flights of reduced-gravity research aircraft. In the welding experiments, using a spring mechanism for the movement of a molten welding material did not result in a strong weld. In the experiments with regolith, a slight effect of the gravity on the combustion front velocity was observed. The product compositions are in a reasonable agreement with thermodynamic calculations.
Published Version
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