An oblique clinoenstatite highland analog lunar soil and a method of making the same

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of simulated lunar soil, in particular to an anorthosite highland simulated lunar soil and a preparation method thereof. The preparation method of the anorthosite highland simulated lunar soil comprises the following steps: S1, vacuum calcining and sieving anorthosite powder; S2, vacuum calcining and sieving basalt powder to obtain basaltic simulated lunar soil powder; S3, mixing the basaltic simulated lunar soil powder and the anorthosite powder according to a proportion of 0.5-5:5-9.5 to obtain a highland simulated lunar soil sample; S4, vacuum sintering the highland simulated lunar soil sample, crushing and sieving the sintered sample to obtain sintered powder; and S5, mixing the highland simulated lunar soil sample and the sintered powder according to a proportion of 9-6:1 to obtain an anorthosite highland simulated lunar soil. The anorthosite highland simulated lunar soil is close to the composition of the real highland lunar rock in component and mineral distribution, and can be applied in more extensive lunar soil simulation tests.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of simulated lunar soil technology, and in particular to a type of oblique elongated highland simulated lunar soil and its preparation method. Background Technology

[0002] As is well known, the Moon possesses abundant mineral resources and a unique space environment, attracting continuous exploration from countries around the world. Whether for scientific exploration of the Moon itself or as a forward base for future space exploration, building a lunar base holds significant strategic importance. However, the extremely high cost of Earth-Moon transportation makes the availability of raw materials for lunar base construction a prominent issue. Following the lunar landing, the concept of In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) was proposed, aiming to develop usable extraterrestrial natural resources (such as the lunar surface). As the most readily available material on the lunar surface, lunar regolith, a product of space weathering covering the entire surface, is naturally the preferred material for ISRU-driven lunar base construction. Lunar regolith has enormous potential as a raw material for lunar base construction, and many countries have invested considerable time and resources in research towards this goal; however, overall, technological advancements and scientific progress are still in the early exploratory stages.

[0003] Currently, real lunar regolith samples are extremely precious, making large-scale scientific research impossible, especially since they are non-recyclable, and their application in engineering research is even more difficult. Therefore, many countries have developed different types of lunar regolith experimental substitutes—simulated lunar regolith—by using terrestrial materials and proportioning them according to the composition of real lunar regolith, targeting different applications and needs. Examples include China's CAS, CLRS, CUG, and HUST series, and the US's JSC series. Based on their intended use, simulated lunar regolith can be categorized into general-purpose and geomechanical-specific types. General-purpose simulated lunar regolith has universal application scenarios and needs. Furthermore, based on their material origin, simulated lunar regolith can be divided into three main categories: mare basaltic, highland feldspar, and mixtures of both. On Earth, raw materials with a composition similar to mare basaltic are basalt or basaltic volcanic ash, while those similar to highland feldspar are plagioclase.

[0004] According to publicly available literature, the main lunar highland soil simulators currently available include OB-1, NAO-1, ​​and NT-LHT-2M. OB-1, produced in Canada, is a lunar highland soil simulator designed to simulate geotechnical engineering properties, facilitating the design and testing of drilling, excavation, and construction equipment for future lunar surface operations. NAO-1, ​​developed by the National Astronomical Observatories of China, is a lunar highland soil simulator that simulates the elemental concentrations of Apollo 16 lunar soil samples and measures its particle size distribution, specific gravity, internal friction angle, and other physical properties. NT-LHT-2M simulates lunar highland soil, studying particle size distribution, specific gravity, maximum and minimum density, compaction characteristics, shear strength parameters, and compressibility; the results are compared with information on lunar regolith provided in the Lunar Sourcebook to aid in the development of regolith-mobilizing machines and vehicles.

[0005] Real lunar highland regolith is composed of multi-component breccia formed by rock fragments, regolith breccia, and impact glass cemented together. Furthermore, the rock types, minerals, and chemical compositions of these breccias are heterogeneous. Due to the impact fracturing and partial melting of various rock types, the breccia contains breccia, glass, and cement from multiple sources. Currently, most simulated lunar highland regolith studies both domestically and internationally are single-chemical-component powder particles. This lacks both the diverse chemical compositions found in simulated lunar regolith and the presence of breccia, glass, and cement in the simulated regolith powder. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to address the aforementioned shortcomings of the prior art by proposing a paraboloid highland simulated lunar soil and its preparation method.

[0007] The present invention provides a method for preparing a simulated lunar regolith of highland type, comprising the following steps:

[0008] S1. Vacuum calcination and sieving of the plagioclase powder;

[0009] S2. Basalt powder was vacuum calcined to remove biomass and then sieved to obtain basaltic simulated lunar soil powder.

[0010] S3. Mix the basaltic simulated lunar soil powder obtained in step S2 with the plagioclase powder obtained in step S1 at a ratio of 0.5-5:5-9.5 to obtain the initial sample of highland simulated lunar soil.

[0011] S4. Vacuum sintering of highland simulated lunar soil initial sample: The sintered sample is crushed and sieved to obtain sintered powder.

[0012] S5. Mix the initial sample of simulated lunar soil in highland areas obtained in step S3 with the sintered powder obtained in step S4 at a ratio of 9-6:1 to obtain the simulated lunar soil in highland areas of oblique morphology.

[0013] Steps S1 and S2 have no specific order.

[0014] Furthermore, in step S1, the calcination temperature is 550-650℃, and the calcination time is 0.5-2 hours.

[0015] Furthermore, in step S2, the calcination temperature is 550-650℃, and the calcination time is 0.5-2 hours.

[0016] Furthermore, step S1 involves sieving through a 200-mesh sieve.

[0017] Furthermore, step S3 involves sieving through a 200-mesh sieve.

[0018] Furthermore, the anorthosite powder was obtained by crushing and manually removing dark impurities from the anorthosite in Damiao, Chengde City, Hebei Province, and then grinding it.

[0019] Furthermore, the basalt powder is obtained by crushing and manually removing dark impurities from the Jinlong Dingzi volcanic basalt in Jilin Province, followed by grinding.

[0020] Furthermore, in step S4, sintering is carried out at 800-1000℃.

[0021] Furthermore, in step S4, the sample is passed through a 5mm sieve.

[0022] An alginate highland simulated lunar soil prepared using the above-described preparation method.

[0023] The inventors discovered that by repeatedly crushing and grinding plagioclase rock and then sieving it, and mixing it with basaltic simulated lunar regolith in a certain proportion, a preliminary sample of simulated lunar regolith is obtained. This preliminary sample acts as the weathering layer powder in the simulated lunar regolith. A portion of the preliminary sample is vacuum sintered and then crushed. The sintered and crushed sample contains particles larger than 1 mm (as shown in Figure 3), which act as breccia in the simulated lunar regolith. Siliceous cement is also present between the particles, as well as a glassy phase formed by rapid cooling after melting. The simulated lunar regolith obtained by mixing the sintered and crushed sample with the unsintered preliminary sample can simulate the powder, breccia, glass, and cement in real highland lunar regolith. Furthermore, its composition and mineral distribution are close to those of real highland lunar rocks, making it applicable to a wider range of lunar regolith simulation experiments. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating the method for preparing simulated lunar soil of oblique elongated highlands involved in this invention;

[0025] Figure 2 Here is a picture of the plagioclase rock used as raw material in Example 1;

[0026] Figure 3a A photograph of the simulated lunar soil from the highlands prepared in Example 1;

[0027] Figure 3b A photograph of breccia in simulated lunar soil prepared in highlands in Example 1;

[0028] Figure 3c and 3d This is a scanning electron microscope image of the simulated lunar soil from the highlands prepared in Example 1 of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 This is an XRD mineral composition analysis diagram of the plagioclase rock used as raw material in Example 1 of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 5 This is an XRD mineral composition diagram of basaltic simulated lunar soil from Example 1 of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 6 The XRD mineral composition diagram of the simulated lunar soil in the highlands prepared in Example 1 of this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0032] The following are specific embodiments of the present invention, which are described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[0033] Example 1:

[0034] I. Preparation of raw materials for basaltic simulated lunar soil:

[0035] Basalt from the Jinlong Dingzi volcano in Jilin Province was crushed, dark impurities were removed manually, and then ground to obtain basalt powder. The basalt powder was then calcined at 600℃ under vacuum for 1 hour to remove biomass through a 200-mesh sieve to obtain basaltic simulated lunar soil powder.

[0036] II. Preparation of Plagioclase Anorthosite Powder Particles:

[0037] (1) In this embodiment, plagioclase rock from Damiao, Chengde City, Hebei Province was used as raw material. Figure 2 (as shown);

[0038] (2) In the laboratory, the rock sample was cut into small pieces with a particle size of about 5 cm using a cutting machine, and the cutting surface and weathered surface were ground off by a grinding machine. Then, the sample was dried to obtain small pieces of pure plagioclase rock.

[0039] (3) The cut plagioclase small pieces were crushed twice to obtain plagioclase powder. The first step was to use a jaw crusher to pre-crush the small pieces to obtain fragments with a particle size of about 3 mm, and remove dark impurities manually. The second step was to use an agate ball mill to grind the small fragments of about 3 mm into micron-sized powder.

[0040] (4) Plagioclase powder was calcined at 600℃ in a vacuum for 1 hour and passed through a 200-mesh sieve.

[0041] III. Raw material mixing:

[0042] Calcined and sieved plagioclase powder particles and HUST-1 powder particles were mixed at a mass ratio of 5:5 and stirred thoroughly to obtain a preliminary sample of highland simulated lunar soil.

[0043] IV. Sintering, shaping, crushing, and remixing:

[0044] (1) Vacuum sintering of the highland simulated lunar soil sample at 1000℃ and holding for 60 min to obtain sintered sample. The sample was then ground by ball mill and passed through a 5 mm sieve to obtain sintered and crushed small particles, which are similar to breccia, glass and cement in lunar breccia.

[0045] (2) The highland simulated lunar soil sample was mixed with sintered and crushed small particles at a ratio of 9:1 to obtain the highland simulated lunar soil.

[0046] Analysis and testing:

[0047] (1) Elemental composition

[0048] The main oxide contents of the plagioclase-like simulated highland lunar reefs, plagioclase raw materials, and basaltic simulated lunar reefs prepared in this embodiment were analyzed using an XRF-1800 wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. The analytical results and extreme values ​​of the chemical composition of real highland lunar reefs are shown in Table 1 below.

[0049] Table 1

[0050]

[0051] As can be seen from Table 1, the chemical composition of the simulated lunar soil obtained in the highlands is basically within the maximum and minimum values ​​of the chemical composition of the real lunar soil in the highlands.

[0052] (2) Mineral composition

[0053] The minerals contained in the plagioclase-like simulated highland lunar regolith, plagioclase rock raw materials, and HUST-1 basaltic simulated lunar regolith prepared in this embodiment were tested using an XRD-6100 X-ray diffractometer. The test results are as follows: Figures 3a-5 As shown.

[0054] Figure 3a A photograph of the simulated lunar soil from the highlands prepared in Example 1;

[0055] Figure 3b A photograph of breccia in simulated lunar soil prepared in highlands in Example 1;

[0056] Figure 3c and 3d Scanning electron microscope image of simulated lunar regolith prepared in Example 1; from Figure 3c It can be clearly seen that the simulated lunar soil in the model highlands has cementing material; from Figure 3d It can be seen that the simulated lunar soil in the highlands has a glassy appearance.

[0057] Figure 4 This is an XRD mineral composition analysis diagram of the plagioclase rock used as raw material in Example 1 of the present invention;

[0058] Figure 5 This is an XRD mineral composition diagram of basaltic simulated lunar soil from Example 1 of the present invention;

[0059] Figure 6 The XRD mineral composition diagram of the simulated lunar soil in the highlands prepared in Example 1 of this invention.

[0060] from Figure 4 It can be seen that the composition of plagioclase is mainly composed of anorthosite and sodium feldspar; from Figure 5 It can be seen that basaltic simulated lunar soil includes minerals such as pyroxene and olivine; from Figure 6 As can be seen from the data, the main component of the simulated lunar soil in the highlands is feldspar, with a small amount of basalt-like minerals.

[0061] Example 2:

[0062] I. Preparation of raw materials for basaltic simulated lunar soil:

[0063] Same as Example 1.

[0064] II. Preparation of Plagioclase Anorthosite Powder Particles:

[0065] Same as Example 1.

[0066] III. Raw material mixing:

[0067] Calcined and sieved plagioclase powder particles and HUST-1 powder particles were mixed at a mass ratio of 7:3 and stirred thoroughly to obtain a preliminary sample of highland simulated lunar soil.

[0068] IV. Sintering, shaping, crushing, and remixing:

[0069] (1) Vacuum sintering of the highland simulated lunar soil sample at 1000℃ and holding for 60 min to obtain sintered sample. The sample was then ground by ball mill and passed through a 5 mm sieve to obtain breccia, glass and cement similar to those in lunar breccia.

[0070] (2) The highland simulated lunar soil sample was mixed with sintered and crushed small particles at a ratio of 9:1 to obtain the highland simulated lunar soil.

[0071] Example 3:

[0072] I. Preparation of raw materials for basaltic simulated lunar soil:

[0073] Same as Example 1.

[0074] II. Preparation of Plagioclase Anorthosite Powder Particles:

[0075] Same as Example 1.

[0076] III. Raw material mixing:

[0077] Calcined and sieved plagioclase powder particles and HUST-1 powder particles were mixed at a mass ratio of 9.5:0.5 and stirred thoroughly to obtain a preliminary sample of highland simulated lunar soil.

[0078] IV. Sintering, shaping, crushing, and remixing:

[0079] (1) The highland simulated lunar soil sample was vacuum sintered at 1000℃ and held for 60 minutes in a KJ-V1600-36LW vacuum heat treatment furnace to obtain a sintered sample. The sample was then ground by a ball mill and passed through a 5mm sieve to obtain sintered and crushed small particles, which are similar to breccia, glass and cement in lunar breccia.

[0080] (2) The highland simulated lunar soil sample was mixed with sintered and crushed small particles at a ratio of 9:1 to obtain the highland simulated lunar soil.

[0081] For any points not covered above, existing technologies shall apply.

[0082] Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail by way of examples, those skilled in the art should understand that the above examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications or additions to the described specific embodiments or use similar methods to replace them, without departing from the direction of the invention or exceeding the scope defined by the appended claims. Those skilled in the art should understand that any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of preparing a felsic class highland analog lunar soil, characterized in that, The method comprises the following steps: S1, vacuum calcining and sieving the plagioclase powder; S2, vacuum calcining and sieving the basalt powder to remove biomass and obtain basaltic simulated lunar soil powder; S3, mixing the basaltic simulated lunar soil powder obtained in step S2 and the plagioclase powder obtained in step S1 at a ratio of 0.5-5:5-9.5 to obtain highland simulated lunar soil; S4, vacuum sintering the highland simulated lunar soil, crushing and sieving the sintered sample to obtain sintered powder; and obtaining sintered small particles, which are similar to the angular debris, glass and cement in the lunar breccia; S5, mixing the highland simulated lunar soil obtained in step S3 and the sintered powder obtained in step S4 at a ratio of 9-6:1 to obtain plagioclase simulated lunar soil; Steps S1 and S2 have no sequence; The calcination temperature in step S1 is 550-650℃, and the calcination time is 1-2 hours; The calcination temperature in step S2 is 550-650℃, and the calcination time is 1-2 hours; In step S4, the sintering temperature is 800-1000℃, and the sintering time is 50-70 min.

2. The production method according to claim 1, characterized by: Step S1 adopts 200 mesh sieving.

3. The production method according to claim 1, wherein: Step S3 adopts 200 mesh sieving.

4. The production method according to claim 1, wherein: The plagioclase powder is obtained by crushing and manually removing dark impurities from the plagioclase in Chengde, Hebei Province, and then grinding.

5. The production method according to claim 1, wherein: The basalt powder is obtained by crushing and manually removing dark impurities from the basalt in Jindongzi, Jilin Province, and then grinding.

6. The production method according to claim 1, wherein: In step S4, the sample is sieved through a 5 mm sieve.

7. A plagioclase simulated lunar soil prepared by the method of any one of claims 1-6.

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