Geotechnical characterisation of two new low-fidelity lunar regolith analogues (UoM-B and UoM-W) for use in large-scale engineering experiments

Just, Gunter H.; Joy, Katherine H.; Roy, Matthew; Smith, Katherine

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.04.025

Cited by 19 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…drill cores, see Hickman-Lewis et al, 2020a), porosity and density (Kearsley et al, 2009), surface roughness, grain size distribution and shape (e.g. sand, silt or clay, see Kapui et al, 2018;Just et al, 2020) and other physical properties. Ideally, a technical analogue should not be a natural sample, but rather have perfectly characterised parameters that govern the rationale for its use in testing a specific process or technique.…”

Section: Technical Analogue Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Definition and use of functional analogues in planetary exploration

Foucher¹,

Hickman‐Lewis²,

Westall³

2024

Preprint

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The practical limitations inherent to human and robotic planetary exploration necessitate the development of specific protocols, instrumentations and methods. This non-standard approach implies testing and validation phases in order to optimize the setups and to improve the scientific interpretations prior to, during, and after a mission. These tests are made either using space instruments or representative systems and are carried out on &#8216;analogue samples&#8217; and/or in &#8216;analogue sites&#8217;. Analogues can be globally defined as objects or sites having compositions and/or physical properties similar to specific extraterrestrial objects. Nevertheless, due to the variability in composition and properties of natural materials, there are always &#8211; inevitably &#8211; some differences between the analogue and the object(s) to which it refers. In studies using analogues, it is thus important to focus on the specific properties that need to be imitated and to consider analogue properties rather than analogue sites or samples alone. Thus, we recently introduced the concept of &#8220;functional analogues&#8221; (Foucher et al., 2021). &#160;Functional analogues are defined as terrestrial sites, materials or objects exhibiting general properties more or less similar to those anticipated on the targeted extraterrestrial body, but having specific analogue properties that are highly or perfectly relevant for a given use. Based on this definition, we sorted functional analogues according to their utility for different domains, from engineering to astrobiology, throughout the timeline of space missions. We also proposed logical pathways to facilitate the selection of the best-suited functional analogue(s) according to their intended use. Reference: Foucher, F., Hickman-Lewis, K., Hutzler, A., Joy, K.H., Folco, L., Bridges, J.C., Wozniakiewicz, P., Mart&#237;nez-Fr&#237;as, J., Debaille, V., Zolensky, M., Yano, H., Bost, N., Ferri&#232;re, L., Lee, M., Michalski, J., Schroeven-Deceuninck, H., Kminek, G., Viso, M., Russell, S., Smith, C., Zipfel, J., Westall, F., 2021. Definition and use of functional analogues in planetary exploration. Planetary and Space Science 197, 105162.

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Section: Technical Analogue Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Definition and use of functional analogues in planetary exploration

Foucher¹,

Hickman‐Lewis²,

Westall³

2024

Preprint

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“…Four different analogue materials were tested, to get an understanding of how particle shape and other material properties, for instance density or particle cohesion, affect the outcome and to allow for a more robust estimation of the feasibility of the intended application. The chosen analogue materials were UoM‐B (a complex ferro‐silicate) (Just et al, 2020a), TUBS‐M and TUBS‐T (basalts) (Linke et al, 2018), as well as Hess Pumice Grade 1/0 (pumice powder), whereas each experimental run was performed with 200 g of the material; for a full characterisation and details regarding the PSD of analogue materials see the cited references. After weighing out the material in a beaker, it was added to the vibrating sieve.…”

Section: Dry Sieving Of Regolithmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the particle size distribution of the used analogue materials is very different, not all analogues were tested with all aperture sizes. For example, UoM‐B has a nominal particle size distribution up to 125 microns (for details see Just et al, 2020a), and, thus, using a sieve with an aperture coarser than 500 microns is untenable when considering the residence time. For the two data sets that are greyed out in Table 2, the residence time was interpolated based on their particle size distribution passing value due to the immense increase in time demand.…”

Section: Dry Sieving Of Regolithmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development and test of a Lunar Excavation and Size Separation System (LES³) for the LUVMI‐X rover platform

Just

Roy

Joy

et al. 2021

Journal of Field Robotics

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Future sustained human presence on the Moon will require us to make use of lunar resources. This in‐situ resource utilisation (ISRU) process will require suitable feedstock (i.e., lunar regolith) that has been both acquired and prepared (or beneficiated) to set standards. Acquisition of pre‐processed regolith, is an often overlooked engineering challenge in the demanding and low‐gravity environment of the lunar surface. Currently, regolith excavation and size separation are often developed independently of each other. Here, we present the Lunar Excavation and Size Separation System (LES3), which is an engineered one‐system solution to combine the acquisition of lunar regolith as well as separate it into two distinct size fractions, and therefore, can assist to define the quality of the feedstock material for ISRU processes. Intended for use with a lightweight (40–60 kg) lunar rover (LUnar Volatiles Mobile Instrumentation‐X; LUVMI‐X) currently under development, the mechanism utilises vibrations to reduce excavation forces and facilitate size separation. Low excavation forces are crucial for lunar excavators to be deployable on lightweight robotic platforms as limited traction forces are available. The rationale behind the mechanism is explained, its capabilities in the support of science and ISRU are showcased, and results from several laboratory test campaigns, including tests of gravitational dry sieving of different regolith simulants, are presented. The LES3 can excavate up to 100 g in a single charge while maintaining excavation forces of less than 8 N and having a mass of less than 2 kg. Finally, areas of improvement for a second iteration of the design are presented and explained. The LES3 proof of concept shows that combining of regolith excavation and size‐separation in a single mechanism is feasible.

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“…Newer analogous materials include UoM-B and UoM-W, which do not mimic any particular region. Nevertheless, they are suitable as low-fidelity simulants for large experimental setups [ 63 ]. Other large-volume simulants are the basanitic EAC-1 and its dust-free version EAC-1A [ 64 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geotechnical and Shear Behavior of Novel Lunar Regolith Simulants TUBS-M, TUBS-T, and TUBS-I

et al. 2022

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The return to the Moon is an important short-term goal of NASA and other international space agencies. To minimize mission risks, technologies, such as rovers or regolith processing systems, must be developed and tested on Earth using lunar regolith simulants that closely resemble the properties of real lunar soil. So far, no singular lunar simulant can cover the multitude of use cases that lunar regolith involves, and most available materials are poorly characterized. To overcome this major gap, a unique modular system for flexible adaptable novel lunar regolith simulants was developed and chemically characterized in earlier works. To supplement this, the present study provides comprehensive investigations regarding geotechnical properties of the three base regolith simulant systems: TUBS-M, TUBS-T, and TUBS-I. To evaluate the engineering and flow properties of these heterogeneous materials under various conditions, shear tests, particle size analyses, scanning electron microscope observations, and density investigations were conducted. It was shown that small grains <25 µm (lunar dust) are highly compressive and cohesive even at low external stress. They are particularly important as a large amount of fine dust is present in lunar regolith and simulants (x50 = 76.7 to 96.0 µm). Further, ring shear and densification tests revealed correlations with damage mechanisms caused by local stress peaks for grains in the mm range. In addition, an explanation for the occurrence of considerable differences in the literature-based data for particle sizes was established by comparing various measurement procedures. The present study shows detailed geotechnical investigations of novel lunar regolith simulants, which can be used for the development of equipment for future lunar exploration missions and in situ resource utilization under realistic conditions. The results also provide evidence about possible correlations and causes of known soil-induced mission risks that so far have mostly been described phenomenologically.

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Geotechnical characterisation of two new low-fidelity lunar regolith analogues (UoM-B and UoM-W) for use in large-scale engineering experiments

Cited by 19 publications

References 32 publications

Definition and use of functional analogues in planetary exploration

Definition and use of functional analogues in planetary exploration

Development and test of a Lunar Excavation and Size Separation System (LES³) for the LUVMI‐X rover platform

Geotechnical and Shear Behavior of Novel Lunar Regolith Simulants TUBS-M, TUBS-T, and TUBS-I

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Geotechnical characterisation of two new low-fidelity lunar regolith analogues (UoM-B and UoM-W) for use in large-scale engineering experiments

Cited by 19 publications

References 32 publications

Definition and use of functional analogues in planetary exploration

Definition and use of functional analogues in planetary exploration

Development and test of a Lunar Excavation and Size Separation System (LES3) for the LUVMI‐X rover platform

Geotechnical and Shear Behavior of Novel Lunar Regolith Simulants TUBS-M, TUBS-T, and TUBS-I

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Product

Resources

About

Development and test of a Lunar Excavation and Size Separation System (LES³) for the LUVMI‐X rover platform