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New Fiber Reinforced Waterless Concrete for Extraterrestrial Structural ApplicationsCommercial use of sulfur concrete on Earth is well established, particularly in corrosive, e.g., acid and salt, environments. Having found troilite (FeS) on the Moon raises the question of using extracted sulfur as a lunar construction mate: iii an attractive alternative to conventional concrete as it does not require water For the purpose of this paper it is assumed that lunar ore is mined, refined, and the raw sulfur processed with appropriate lunar regolith to form, for example, brick and beam elements. Glass fibers produced from regolith were used as a reinforcement to improve the mechanical properties of the sulfur concrete. Glass fibers and glass rebar were produced by melting the lunar regolith simulant. Lunar regolith stimulant was melted in a 25 cc Pt-Rh crucible in a Sybron Thermoline 46100 high temperature MoSi2 furnace at melting temperatures of 1450 to 1600G. The glass melt wets the ceramic rod and long continuous glass fibers were easily hand drawn. The glass fibers were immediately coated with a protective polymer to maintain the mechanical strength. The viability of sulfur concrete as a construction material for extraterrestrial application is presented. The mechanical properties of the glass fiber reinforced sulfur concrete were investigated.
Document ID
20050215603
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Toutanji, H.
(Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Tucker, D.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Ethridge, E.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2005
Subject Category
Composite Materials
Meeting Information
Meeting: Twelfth International Conference on Composites/Nano Engineering
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands
Country: Spain
Start Date: August 1, 2005
End Date: August 6, 2005
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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