Novel Simulant and Regolith Wear Test Capability for Dust Mitigation

Completed TRL 2 (started at 1, targeting 2)

Description

Wear behavior of simulants has never been fully tested and compared to regolith behavior to ensure life testing is carried out under realistic conditions. Developing a test method and rig to test wear properties will build the capability in house to test any simulant and comapre it's performance to regolith. Once a test is validated, it can be used for any future simulant variation, and for candidate materials versus known simulants to help develop future materials as well.

Benefits

Provide much-needed validation of simulant/regolith wear behavior to enable long-life space mechanisms for planetary exploration and habitation. Current SOA uses simulants as a surrogate for regolith in mechanism life and performance testing without ever having been validated. The proposed effort will test simulant wear properties and enable future validtion with regoltih to inform mechnism designers of proper simulant use for an application.

Details

Technology area	Materials, Structures, Mechanical Systems, and Manufacturing > Mechanical Systems > Mechanism-Life-Extension Systems
Program	Center Innovation Fund: GRC CIF (GRC CIF)
Lead organization	Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH
Start date	2020-10-01
End date	2021-09-30

Project contacts

Listed on TechPort itself — the most direct way to ask about this specific project.

Samuel A Howard — howard@nasa.gov

How to get involved

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 2) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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