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Completed TRL 3 (started at 3, targeting 4)
Project Objective
To develop and fabricate graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) reinforced lunar regolith structures with enhanced electrical conductivity and wear resistance.
Project Description
The long-term goal of this project is to assist in accomplishing NASA’s in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) mission. To that end, this project focused on additive manufacturing (AM) of GNP reinforced lunar regolith with improved wear resistance and electrical conductivity properties. The electrical conductivity properties are of particular interest as it plays a role in simulating geophysical aspects of the lunar interior and performance predictions of electrochemical reactors.
The project was split into four distinct tasks related to fabrication and evaluation:
Task 1: Slurry Optimization and 3D Printing of GNP Reinforced Lunar Regolith
Task 2: Pressureless Spark Plasma Sintering (PSPS) of the GNP Reinforced Lunar Regolith Structures
Task 3 – Microstructural Analysis of the GNP Reinforced Lunar Regolith Structures
Task 4 – Electrical and Tribology Characterization of GNP-reinforced Lunar Regolith
Tasks 1 and 2 were aided by prior experience Florida International University (FIU) had gained via successfully printing and sintering Greenland Anorthosite structures using digital light processing (DLP). The addition of GNP did require adjustments to both processes, in particular Task 2. Early production samples suffered from cracking and delamination, requiring extended efforts and process optimizations to correct.
Tasks 3 and 4 are to evaluate the materials produced and determine whether the stated goals of increasing electrical conductivity and wear resistance were achieved. Due to the aforementioned early production issues, these tasks are still ongoing.
Project Results and Conclusions
2024 Results:
Slurry Optimization: Achieved homogeneous dispersion of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) within lunar regolith (LR).
3D Printing: Over 20 precision samples were fabricated using the Bison 1000 DLP printer, achieving consistent dimensional accuracy with less than 5% shrinkage during processing.
Curing Process: Effective UV curing protocols were established, supplemented by pyrolysis trials to ensure complete resin removal and structural integrity without deformation.
Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS): To compare the properties of the 3D printed samples, samples with similar compositions were further processed using SPS.
Testing Preparations: Samples were prepared for thorough tribological and electrical conductivity testing in ambient conditions.
Electrical Conductivity: Comprehensive electrical conductivity measurements were conducted on all fabricated and cured samples.
Tribological Testing: Conducted tribological testing on cured 3D-printed and lunar regolith samples.
Results available in attached Library report.
Complications:
Due to the delays in fabrication, the initial project deadline was unable to be met and a No-Cost Extension (NCE) was submitted and approved. A handful of pathfinder samples for starting tribological testing have been completed and sent to MSFC. Due to the NCE, most tribological testing and all of the conductivity testing will now be undertaken by FIU, resulting in limited data of vacuum wear properties.
This CAN proposal aims to fabricate 3D print lunar regolith-GNP structures with enhanced electrical conductivity and wear resistance in collaboration with NASA MSFC. Such an effort focuses on supporting one of the 15 distinct technical areas of Advanced Materials, Structures, and Manufacturing (AMSM) mentioned on Pg 6 in the CAN No. 80MSFC23M0001.
The success of this project will support advancing NASA Technology Roadmaps and identify functional materials systems for future NASA space exploration endeavors. It will also benefit FIU's research missions and train the next generation of students to become future researchers and scientists.
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