Sintering of Composite Materials under Reduced Gravity Conditions

Purpose of the experiment is to study how the reduced gravity conditions influence the formation of the micro-structures in the sintering process of powder materials. Previous experiments on powder mixing and compacting have been carried out on parabolic flights, using ceramic-based composite materials with different percentages of alumina and zircon oxide, which showed that in the samples compressed under reduced gravity the distribution of the zircon in the alumina is more homogenous as compared to the samples obtained under 1 g on ground. This is due to the fact that the reduced gravity favors the formation of the mixing and the absence of powder sedimentation. The proposed experiment will extend this investigation, by heating pre-compressed samples to sintering temperature, under the reduced gravity conditions provided by a parabolic flight aircraft.

This innovative process to obtain in-situ high quality materials on the surface of the Moon and other celestial bodies will benefit future NASA missions and perhaps the commercial space industry.

This is a mature technology (TRL 8) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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