TY - GEN
T1 - Examination of Smart Sandbags for Semi-Permanent Structures on the Lunar Surface
AU - Xu, Yinan
AU - Qiu, Jiawei
AU - Vilvanathan, Virupakshan
AU - Raj, Athip Thirupathi
AU - Thangavelautham, Jekan
N1 - Funding Information:
The work has been funded by the NASA BAA Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships -2 (NextSTEP-2), In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Technology. The authors would like to thank the following individuals for their input and help: Hari Nayar, Julie Kleinhenz, Diane Linne, Jerry Sanders, and Brian Wilcox.
Funding Information:
The study on which this paper is based was supported by NASA MUREP Institutional Research Opportunity Grant under Cooperative Agreement #80NSSC19M0196. The results and opinions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Funding Information:
A Lunar Space Technology Research (LuSTR) grant awarded to Michigan Technological University (MTU) has prompted the development of a Percussive Heated Cone Penetrometer (PHCP). This technology will allow for the active sampling of geotechnical data and thermal calorimetric measurements of lunar regolith in PSRs. This paper will focus on the sig nificance of the thermal measurements collected by the PHCP. Through the addition of heat and the active sampling of the temperatures surrounding the heated probe, temperature profiles will indicate phase changes for many volatiles present. This data will then be used in a predictive mathematical model to derive the volatile contents surrounding the PHCP.
Funding Information:
This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Canadian Space Agency, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Nature et Technologies (FRQNT). The authors would also like to thank Dominique Tremblay and Pierre-Lucas Aubin-Fournier for assistance with designing and building the experimental apparatus, and George Butt for assistance with performing the experiments.
Funding Information:
The author would like to thank the Norwich University Faculty Development Funding for the Charles A. Dana Research Fellowship AY19 -20 and the resourceful contribution of the Kreitzberg Library.
Funding Information:
This work is supported by NASA Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program 2021 (award number T7.04-2630 (STTR 2021-1)). We would like to thank our technical omtor Benveirly Kemmerer for her smooth management of this waard.
Funding Information:
This work is funded by NASA SSERVI under the RESOURCE (Resource Exploration and Science of OUR Cosmic Environment) contract.
Funding Information:
This work was funded by the Laboratory Directed Research & Development (LDRD) program at Sandia National Laboratories, and the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research under Award Number DE-SC-0000230927 and under the Collaboratory on Mathematics and Physics-Informed Learning Machines for Multiscale and Multiphysics Problems (PhILMs) project. The development of the ideas presented herein was funded in part by the third author’s Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. This paper describes objective technical results and analysis. Any subjective views or opinions that might be expressed in the paper do not
Funding Information:
This work was partially funded by National Key R&D Program of China with grant No. 2017YFC1503106 and Science & Tec hnology Project of China Energy Engineering Group Planning and Engineering Co., Ltd with grant No. GSKJ2-T02-2020.
Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the Korean Technology for financial support of this research.
Funding Information:
This work is supported by Louisiana Space Grant Consortium (LaSPACE), and Bert S. Turner Department of Construction Management at LSU. The authors would like to also thank Dr. Jennifer Edmunson (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center) for her valuable support.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Laboratory-directed Research and Development (LDRD) program, and the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research under Award Number DE-SC-0000230927 and under the Col-laboratory on Mathematics and Physics-Informed Learning Machines for Multiscale and Multiphysics Problems (PhILMs) project. This paper describes objective technical results and analysis. Any subjective views or opinions that might be expressed in the paper do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Energy or the United States Government.
Funding Information:
This work is funded by the Technology Mission Directorate.
Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the financial support received from the Quake Core, NZ, and University of Canterbury Doctoral Scholarship along with the technical support during the planning and testing phase of the research provided by Prof. Timothy Sullivan, Mr. Tim Perigo, Mr. Mosese Fifita, Mr. Alan Thirlwell, and the Structural Engineering Laboratory team.
Funding Information:
This work is supported by a Lunar Surface Technology Research (LuSTR) grant from 1$6$¶V 6SDFH 7HFKQRORJ\ 5HVHDUFK *UDQWV 3URJUDP 166& .
Funding Information:
We wish to express our sincere appreciation to Mr. Matt Duggan and Dr. Valery Aksamentov, project leads for Boeing for their effective central roles in initiating and supporting these efforts, and The Boeing Company for financial support of the study. We also owe a debt of gratitude to our own SICSA graduates who contributed to this project: Osaid Sasi and Albert Rajkumar.
Funding Information:
*Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA-0003525.
Publisher Copyright:
© ASCE.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Development of the lunar surface will likely be a pivotal step in the emerging space economy. In recent years it has been confirmed that water is present in the polar craters of the Moon. The Moon is also rich in iron, titanium, and silicon; which may be mined with the appropriate lunar facilities. Motivation to erect a lunar base aligns with the NASA Artemis objectives for a human return to the Moon. In order to achieve Artemis objectives, bases must be erected in a manner that allows for flexibility and mobility. In this way, semi-permanent structures are an ideal mode for facilities to exist on the lunar surface. The optimal method to achieve these structures would be to utilize existing sandbag technologies to innovate lunar-appropriate bases. In the early stages of prospecting and open pit mining, there will likely need to be mobile pilot bases setup that need to perform in-depth evaluation and attempt pilot scale mining at different sites before permanent structures can be installed. We propose simple, multifunctional building blocks such as “smart sandbags” for constructing rapid, low-cost semi-permanent structures. Smart sandbags are filled with lunar-regolith and embedded with structure and impact sensors, and adopt a designed 3D customizable shape. The sandbags will be made of carbon fiber fabrics and integrated with silicone to combat the abrasiveness of lunar sand. Options for rigidization of the sandbags will also be explored with methods such as UV-cured resin or hydrogel. Innovatively designed features of our sandbag structures include the ability to be quickly assembled and disassembled, utilization of in situ resources, and effectiveness under a variable number of ground conditions. The semi-permanent structures are expected to provide shielding from collisions, radiation, maximize surface traction, and provide human habitat. Our studies show that the feasibility of the sandbag structure for use under different lunar surface conditions. Further in-depth investigations will need to be performed to quantify the potential improvement offered by sandbag structures over conventional brick laying and additive manufacturing.
AB - Development of the lunar surface will likely be a pivotal step in the emerging space economy. In recent years it has been confirmed that water is present in the polar craters of the Moon. The Moon is also rich in iron, titanium, and silicon; which may be mined with the appropriate lunar facilities. Motivation to erect a lunar base aligns with the NASA Artemis objectives for a human return to the Moon. In order to achieve Artemis objectives, bases must be erected in a manner that allows for flexibility and mobility. In this way, semi-permanent structures are an ideal mode for facilities to exist on the lunar surface. The optimal method to achieve these structures would be to utilize existing sandbag technologies to innovate lunar-appropriate bases. In the early stages of prospecting and open pit mining, there will likely need to be mobile pilot bases setup that need to perform in-depth evaluation and attempt pilot scale mining at different sites before permanent structures can be installed. We propose simple, multifunctional building blocks such as “smart sandbags” for constructing rapid, low-cost semi-permanent structures. Smart sandbags are filled with lunar-regolith and embedded with structure and impact sensors, and adopt a designed 3D customizable shape. The sandbags will be made of carbon fiber fabrics and integrated with silicone to combat the abrasiveness of lunar sand. Options for rigidization of the sandbags will also be explored with methods such as UV-cured resin or hydrogel. Innovatively designed features of our sandbag structures include the ability to be quickly assembled and disassembled, utilization of in situ resources, and effectiveness under a variable number of ground conditions. The semi-permanent structures are expected to provide shielding from collisions, radiation, maximize surface traction, and provide human habitat. Our studies show that the feasibility of the sandbag structure for use under different lunar surface conditions. Further in-depth investigations will need to be performed to quantify the potential improvement offered by sandbag structures over conventional brick laying and additive manufacturing.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85146537732&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85146537732&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1061/9780784484470.057
DO - 10.1061/9780784484470.057
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85146537732
T3 - Earth and Space 2022: Space Exploration, Utilization, Engineering, and Construction in Extreme Environments - Selected Papers from the 18th Biennial International Conference on Engineering, Science, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environments
SP - 652
EP - 668
BT - Earth and Space 2022
A2 - Dreyer, Christopher B.
A2 - Littell, Justin
PB - American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
T2 - 18th Biennial International Conference on Engineering, Science, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environments: Space Exploration, Utilization, Engineering, and Construction in Extreme Environments, Earth and Space 2022
Y2 - 25 April 2022 through 28 April 2022
ER -