Laser welding study of vacuum sintered HUST-1 lunar regolith simulant  

作　　者：HAN WenBin DING LieYun ZHOU Cheng ZHOU Yan DANG Fen 

机构地区：[1]National Center of Technology Innovation for Digital Construction,Huazhong University of Science and Technology,Wuhan 430074,China [2]School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering,Huazhong University of Science and Technology,Wuhan 730074,China

出　　处：《Science China(Technological Sciences)》2024年第9期2905-2918,共14页中国科学（技术科学英文版）

基　　金：supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(Grant Nos.2023YFB3711300 and 2021YFF0500300);the Strategic Research and Consulting Project of the Chinese Academy of Engineering(Grant Nos.2023-XZ-90 and 2023-JB-09-10)。

摘　　要：Efforts are underway to establish a permanent lunar base on the Moon. In situ lunar regolith is anticipated to be useful as a building material after sintering. However, sintering lunar regolith into a large-scale structure presents challenges. Therefore, the key to lunar construction lies in assembling multiple small-sized sintered modules into a stable, large-sized structure. This study explored the feasibility of welding the sintered HUST-1 lunar regolith simulant(HLRS) using a laser device and conducted experiments using lasers of varying power. The microstructure, mineral composition, element distribution, and shear strength of the welded joint were investigated. A few low-melting minerals were fused and vaporized during welding, leading to the generation of thermal decomposition gas. Furthermore, the welded joint exhibited numerous micro-cracks, pores, and bubbles,resulting in reduced weld shear strength. Finally, the influence of laser power on weld shear strength was investigated, revealing that the highest shear strength(15.69 N/cm) was achieved at a laser power of 1000 W. This study demonstrates the feasibility of laser welding of sintered HLRS for the first time, with potential applications in lunar base construction.

关 键 词：lunar regolith vacuum sintering laser welding weld shear strength lunar base 

分 类 号：V419[航空宇航科学与技术—航空宇航推进理论与工程] TG456.7[金属学及工艺—焊接]