Caroline O'Connell
Academic and research departments
Surrey Space Centre, Lunar Construction and In-Situ Resource Utilisation Group.Â鶹ÊÓƵ
My research project
To improve the heating of lunar regolith simulants with microwave energy by utilising the dielectric properties of regolith as a function of temperature.To establish a permanent human presence on the moon, we need to build infrastructure using lunar resources that are readily available and sustainable and to use these efficiently. Processing lunar regolith using microwave energy is an efficient means of building components such as landing pads, roads and bricks, as well as more complex construction components using 3D printing techniques. Microwave heating efficiency is determined by the dielectric properties of the material being heated. Research has shown that the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of lunar regolith change with temperature. The objective of this research is to measure the dielectric properties of lunar regolith simulants as a function of temperature up to melting point, and to improve the accuracy of current Multiphysics simulations of the heating of lunar regolith simulants by using temperature-dependent measurements. This will lead to more efficient processing of lunar regolith using microwave energy.
Supervisors
To establish a permanent human presence on the moon, we need to build infrastructure using lunar resources that are readily available and sustainable and to use these efficiently. Processing lunar regolith using microwave energy is an efficient means of building components such as landing pads, roads and bricks, as well as more complex construction components using 3D printing techniques. Microwave heating efficiency is determined by the dielectric properties of the material being heated. Research has shown that the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of lunar regolith change with temperature. The objective of this research is to measure the dielectric properties of lunar regolith simulants as a function of temperature up to melting point, and to improve the accuracy of current Multiphysics simulations of the heating of lunar regolith simulants by using temperature-dependent measurements. This will lead to more efficient processing of lunar regolith using microwave energy.