Who: Dr. Yong-Rak Kim, Texas A&M University
When: Friday April 5, 2024 at 10:30AM
Where: PKI 164, KH A512, Zoom ID: 99424352380
Title: Sintering of Lunar Regolith toward In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Space Construction
Abstract:
Densification of lunar soil is considered a core mission to produce various kinds of infrastructure materials that can build structural components (such as landing/launch pads, protective shields, berms, roads, etc.) on surface of the Moon. Considering a number of challenges in using resources available on Earth to produce proper construction materials for the Moon, this research is particularly directed to the concept of the in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) by targeting to develop a proper densification method that is only based on in-situ resources. Toward that end, we have explored sintering processes to densify lunar regolith for lunar construction. Two different sintering methods, i.e., spark plasma sintering and microwave sintering, were attempted. This study first presents the sintering capability of each method at different sintering conditions including temperature, heating rate, and dwell time. To better understand the effect of sintering conditions on the densification behavior and resulting physical-mechanical-geometrical properties, multiscale characterization (microstructure, density/porosity, X- ray diffraction, electron microscopy imaging, nanomechanical properties, and strength) was examined. In addition, to account for several coupled phenomena in the process of sintering, a multiphysics finite element modeling was conducted to simulate sintering at varying conditions. While many challenges are still remained to develop a realistically implementable construction method, test-simulation results from this study imply that sintering is considered a promising ISRU method to densify lunar soils for potential space construction and architecture.
Bio:
Dr. Yong-Rak Kim is a Beavers Charitable Trust/William F. Urban '41 Professor in the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M University. He received his B.S. from Hanyang University in 1997, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at Texas A&M University in 1999 and 2003, respectively. Dr. Kim’s research aims to advance materials for resilient, safer, durable, energy-efficient, and environment-friendly performance of various infrastructure systems. Dr. Kim’s research has been sponsored by various federal, state, and international agencies. Dr. Kim has published over 120 refereed journal articles, given more than 240 presentations (including over 60 invited lectures/talks), and has been actively cited (H-index of 43). He is the recipient of several Honors and Awards recognizing his scholarly research, teaching, and professional service including the Faculty Research and Creative Activity Awards, the Distinguished Teaching Award, the Faculty Service Award, the Zachry CVEN Eminent Scholar Professorship, and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award. Dr. Kim is a Fellow of the Engineering Mechanics Institute and the American Society of Civil Engineers.