Porous lunar soil insulating brick and preparation method thereof

Abstract

The invention relates to a porous lunar soil insulating brick and a preparation method thereof.The method comprises the following steps that S1, in a vacuum environment, lunar soil is placed in a working area of 3D printing equipment, and the surface of the lunar soil is scraped to be flat; heating and melting lunar soil, and carrying out first layer printing according to a preset structure to obtain a first layer of the insulating brick; s2, laying screened lunar soil on the first layer of the insulating bricks; the lunar soil is heated and melted, and a second layer is printed according to a preset skeleton structure; s3, the step S2 is repeated, and printing from the third layer to the (N-1) th layer is completed; and S4, laying screened lunar soil on the (N-1) th layer of printing area, heating and melting the lunar soil, and carrying out top layer printing according to a brick structure to prepare the porous lunar soil insulating brick. The raw materials used in the method are all-in-situ lunar soil materials, laser or lunar surface in-situ sunlight is adopted for condensation to conduct fusion printing on the lunar soil, and the raw material cost and the energy cost are greatly reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical fields of aerospace, aviation and building materials, and in particular to a porous lunar soil insulation brick and a preparation method thereof. Background Art

[0002] At present, manned lunar landing and lunar base construction have become cutting-edge tasks in the aerospace field. However, due to transportation capacity and cost constraints, it is not feasible to transport materials from the earth for the construction of lunar scientific research stations. Therefore, using in-situ lunar soil as raw materials for in-situ construction and manufacturing is a cutting-edge research hotspot in current aerospace technology. The lunar surface has extreme conditions such as high vacuum, high and low temperatures, and strong radiation, which pose a great challenge to the survival of astronauts and instruments and equipment. In particular, the high and low temperatures on the lunar surface, the temperature difference between lunar day and lunar night is as high as 300 degrees Celsius. Therefore, how to insulate the lunar base to ensure the survival of astronauts and instruments and equipment is particularly important. At present, the exploration and development of insulation materials using in-situ resources on the lunar surface has great scientific and application significance, and this task is imminent. Summary of the invention

[0003] In order to solve the technical problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a porous lunar soil insulation brick and a preparation method thereof. The raw materials used for the porous lunar soil insulation brick are fully in-situ lunar soil materials, and laser or in-situ sunlight on the lunar surface is used to concentrate the lunar soil for melt printing, which greatly reduces the cost of raw materials and energy. The porous lunar soil insulation brick has a multi-level pore structure, which effectively reduces the thermal conductivity of the lunar soil brick and improves the thermal insulation performance.

[0004] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose of the invention, the present invention provides a method for preparing porous lunar soil insulation bricks, comprising the following steps:

[0005] Step S1: In a vacuum environment, the lunar soil is placed in the working area of ​​the 3D printing equipment and the surface of the lunar soil is scraped flat; the lunar soil is heated and melted, and the first layer is printed according to the preset structure to obtain the first layer of thermal insulation bricks;

[0006] Step S2, laying the screened lunar soil on the first layer of the insulation bricks; heating and melting the lunar soil, and printing the second layer according to the preset skeleton structure;

[0007] Step S3, repeating step S2, laying the sieved lunar soil on the surface of the previous layer, and completing the printing of the 3rd to N-1th layers;

[0008] Step S4: laying screened lunar soil on the area printed on the N-1th layer, heating and melting the lunar soil, and printing the top layer according to the brick structure to obtain the porous lunar soil insulation brick.

[0009] According to a technical solution of the present invention, the lunar soil is heated and melted by forming a focused light spot using focused sunlight and / or laser irradiation.

[0010] According to a technical solution of the present invention, in step S1, when the printing scene is the lunar surface, it specifically includes:

[0011] Step S11, designing the brick structure of the porous lunar soil insulation brick, and planning the scanning and printing path according to the brick structure;

[0012] Step S12, selecting a flat area on the lunar surface and scraping the lunar soil on the lunar surface as the raw material for the first layer printing;

[0013] Step S13, adjusting the parameters of the focused light spot, and guiding the focused light spot to the area of ​​the first layer printing, and the focused light spot uses the scanning printing path to complete the first layer printing;

[0014] Step S14: After printing is completed, the focusing spot is removed.

[0015] According to a technical solution of the present invention, in step S1, when the printing scene is the earth, the steps specifically include:

[0016] Step S11, designing the brick structure of the porous lunar soil insulation brick, and planning the scanning and printing path according to the brick structure;

[0017] Step S12, laying lunar soil or simulated lunar soil in a vacuum chamber as the first layer of printing material;

[0018] Step S13, adjusting the parameters of the focused light spot, and guiding the focused light spot to the area of ​​the first layer printing, and the focused light spot uses the scanning printing path to complete the first layer printing;

[0019] Step S14: After printing is completed, the focusing spot is removed.

[0020] According to a technical solution of the present invention, the thickness of the first layer of printed lunar soil raw material is not less than 10 mm.

[0021] According to a technical solution of the present invention, the spot size of the focused light spot is 8-12 mm, the power is 100-240 W, and the scanning speed of the focused light spot is 0.1-1.2 mm / s.

[0022] According to a technical solution of the present invention, the step S2 specifically includes:

[0023] Step S21, sieving the lunar soil, and then loading the sifted lunar soil into the vibrating powder spreading machine;

[0024] Step S22, laying the sieved lunar soil on the first layer of the insulation bricks by the vibrating powder laying machine;

[0025] Step S23, guiding the focused light spot to the area where the second layer is to be printed, and the focused light spot performs second layer printing using the scanning printing path, thereby completing the second layer printing;

[0026] Step S24: After printing is completed, the focused light spot is removed.

[0027] According to a technical solution of the present invention, the particle diameter of the sieved lunar soil is less than 1 mm.

[0028] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a porous lunar soil insulation brick prepared by the above method, wherein the preparation raw material is 100% lunar soil or simulated lunar soil;

[0029] The porous lunar soil insulation brick includes a multi-level pore structure, the macroscopic pores are the gaps between the lunar soil melt skeletons in the 2nd to N-1th layers, and the microscopic pores are the pore structures of the lunar soil melt skeletons.

[0030] According to a technical solution of the present invention, the microscopic pores are formed when the focused light spot heats the components in the lunar soil to volatilize.

[0031] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0032] The preparation method of the porous lunar soil insulation brick of the present invention uses laser or in-situ sunlight on the lunar surface to concentrate the lunar soil for melt printing, which can make full use of the in-situ energy on the lunar surface, has the advantages of simple preparation process and low energy demand, and can meet the manufacturing needs of lunar soil bricks of different shapes.

[0033] The raw materials used are all in-situ lunar soil materials, and no additional binder is needed, which not only reduces the transportation cost between the Earth and the Moon, but also reduces the production cost of lunar soil bricks. The required lunar soil material has a wide particle size distribution range and a simple screening process, which fully reflects the characteristics of using local materials on the lunar surface.

[0034] During the preparation process, the first layer of lunar soil only needs to be scraped flat by a mechanism, without going through other complicated processing processes, and the operation is simple and quick. When preparing on the ground, the printing step can be completed in a vacuum chamber, and the raw material used is lunar soil simulant.

[0035] The final porous lunar soil insulation bricks do not require additional curing process or post-processing process and can be used directly after cooling, greatly improving production efficiency.

[0036] The porous lunar soil insulation brick of the present invention has a multi-level pore structure, and its macroscopic pores are pre-designed brick structures, which are formed by the unheated area during printing, and the microscopic pore structure is the abundant pores in the lunar soil melt skeleton, which is realized by the volatilization of the volatile matter of the lunar soil material itself. The multi-level pore structure of the porous lunar soil insulation brick can effectively reduce the thermal conductivity of the lunar soil brick and improve the thermal insulation performance. The macroscopic gaps in the porous lunar soil insulation brick can be achieved through a simple 3D printing process, and the designed microscopic pore structure is realized by the volatilization of the volatile matter of the lunar soil material itself, without the need to add additional foaming agents.

[0037] The raw materials used in the porous lunar soil insulation bricks of the present invention are all-in-situ lunar soil materials, and no additional binder is needed, which not only reduces the transportation cost between the Earth and the Moon, but also reduces the production cost. The required lunar soil material has a wide particle size distribution range and a simple screening process, which fully reflects the characteristics of using local materials on the lunar surface. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0039] Figure 1 A schematic diagram schematically shows a process flow diagram of a method for preparing a porous lunar soil insulation brick provided in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a porous lunar soil insulation brick provided according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0041] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a porous lunar soil insulation brick provided according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown schematically;

[0042] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing the macroscopic pore structure of a porous lunar soil insulation brick provided according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 5 The figure schematically shows the microscopic pore structure of a porous lunar soil insulation brick provided according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0045] like Figures 1 to 5 As shown, the present invention provides a method for preparing a porous lunar soil insulation brick, comprising the following steps:

[0046] Step S1: In a vacuum environment, the lunar soil is placed in the working area of ​​the 3D printing equipment and the surface of the lunar soil is scraped flat; the lunar soil is heated and melted, and the first layer is printed according to the preset structure to obtain the first layer of thermal insulation bricks;

[0047] In step S1, when the printing scene is the lunar surface, the steps specifically include:

[0048] Step S11, designing the brick structure of the porous lunar soil insulation brick, and planning the scanning and printing path according to the brick structure;

[0049] Step S12: Select a flat area on the lunar surface and scrape the lunar soil on the lunar surface as the raw material for the first layer printing;

[0050] During the preparation process, the first layer of lunar soil only needs to be scraped flat by a mechanism, without the need for other complicated processing techniques, and the operation is simple and quick.

[0051] Step S13, using focused sunlight and / or laser irradiation to form a focused light spot to heat and melt the lunar soil, adjusting the parameters of the focused light spot, the spot size of the focused light spot is 8-12 mm, the power is 100-240 W, the scanning speed of the focused light spot is 0.1-1.2 mm / s, and the focused light spot is guided to the area of ​​the first layer printing, and the focused light spot uses a scanning printing path to complete the first layer printing;

[0052] Step S14: After printing is completed, the focused light spot is removed.

[0053] In step S1, when the printing scene is the earth, it specifically includes:

[0054] Step S11, designing the brick structure of the porous lunar soil insulation brick, and planning the scanning and printing path according to the brick structure;

[0055] Step S12, laying lunar soil or simulated lunar soil in a vacuum chamber as the first layer of printing material;

[0056] When prepared on the ground, the printing steps are completed in a vacuum chamber to prevent components in the air from affecting the printing process.

[0057] Step S13, using focused sunlight and / or laser irradiation to form a focused light spot to heat and melt the lunar soil, adjusting the parameters of the focused light spot, the spot size of the focused light spot is 8-12 mm, the power is 100-240 W, the scanning speed of the focused light spot is 0.1-1.2 mm / s, and the focused light spot is guided to the area of ​​the first layer printing, and the focused light spot uses a scanning printing path to complete the first layer printing;

[0058] Step S14: After printing is completed, the focused light spot is removed.

[0059] Among them, what is carried out in step S1 is the first layer printing, and the raw material for the first layer printing can be the sieved lunar soil or simulated lunar soil, or the lunar soil or simulated lunar soil before sieve.

[0060] Step S2: laying the screened lunar soil on the first layer of insulation bricks; heating and melting the lunar soil, and printing the second layer according to the preset skeleton structure, specifically including:

[0061] Step S21, sieving the lunar soil, and then loading the sifted lunar soil into a vibrating powder spreading machine;

[0062] Step S22: laying the sieved lunar soil on the first layer of insulation bricks by a vibrating powder spreading machine;

[0063] The vibrating powder spreading machine can mix the lunar soil components evenly through vibration and spread the lunar soil evenly to the target area.

[0064] Step S23, guiding the focused light spot to the area where the second layer is to be printed, and the focused light spot uses a scanning printing path to print the second layer, thereby completing the printing of the second layer;

[0065] Step S24: After printing is completed, the focused light spot is removed.

[0066] Step S3, repeating step S2, laying the sieved lunar soil on the surface of the previous layer, and completing the printing of the 3rd to N-1th layers;

[0067] Step S4: laying screened lunar soil on the area printed on the N-1th layer, heating and melting the lunar soil, and printing the top layer according to the brick structure to produce porous lunar soil insulation bricks.

[0068] In step S4, since the lunar soil composition may be different in different locations, it may be necessary to adjust the lunar soil laying thickness according to the lunar soil composition during the top layer printing process to make the top of the porous lunar soil insulation brick as flat as possible to facilitate the subsequent construction process.

[0069] After step S4 printing is completed, the porous lunar soil insulation bricks are taken out, and the unsintered lunar soil powder is removed by vibration and other methods, and the unsintered lunar soil powder can be recycled as needed.

[0070] In the process of step S1 to step S4 of the present invention, when laying the lunar soil material, the lunar soil material can be preheated to a temperature below the melting point to reduce the opening time of the laser and extend the service life of the laser.

[0071] The present invention uses laser or in-situ sunlight on the lunar surface to concentrate and melt-print lunar soil, which can make full use of the in-situ energy on the lunar surface. It has the advantages of simple preparation process and low energy requirement, and can meet the manufacturing needs of lunar soil bricks of different shapes.

[0072] The raw materials used are all in-situ lunar soil materials, and no additional binder is needed, which not only reduces the transportation cost between the Earth and the Moon, but also reduces the production cost of lunar soil bricks. The required lunar soil material has a wide particle size distribution range and a simple screening process, which fully reflects the characteristics of using local materials on the lunar surface.

[0073] The final porous lunar soil insulation bricks do not require additional curing process or post-processing process and can be used directly after cooling, greatly improving production efficiency.

[0074] Some specific embodiments will be given below, and the porous lunar soil insulation brick and the preparation method of the present invention will be described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0075] Embodiment 1

[0076] This example provides a square porous lunar soil insulation brick and a preparation method thereof, which is obtained by 3D printing under vacuum using simulated lunar soil on the ground as raw material;

[0077] like Figure 1-2 As shown, the preparation method of Example 1 includes the following steps:

[0078] (1) Load simulated lunar soil with a particle size of less than 1 mm into a vibrating powder spreading machine located in a vacuum chamber, close the vacuum chamber and evacuate it to ensure that the vacuum degree of the vacuum chamber is less than 2000 Pa.

[0079] (2) A vibrating powder spreading machine is used to lay a 10 mm thick layer of simulated lunar soil on the printing area as the first layer of printing material.

[0080] (3) Turn on the laser, set the laser power to 165 W, the spot size to 10 mm, scan and melt the simulated lunar soil in the printing area, and the scanning speed to 0.2 mm / s. After solidification, the first layer of printing is completed, and then turn off the laser;

[0081] (4) Use a vibrating powder spreading machine to lay a 3 mm thick layer of simulated lunar soil on the first layer printing area as the second layer printing material.

[0082] (5) Turn on the laser and scan and melt the second layer of simulated lunar soil in the printing area according to the preset scanning path at a scanning speed of 0.2 mm / s. After solidification, the second layer printing is completed and the laser is turned off;

[0083] (6) Repeat steps (4) and (5) to complete the printing of the third to sixth layers, and after cooling, obtain the porous lunar soil insulation brick, such as Figure 2 shown.

[0084] like Figure 3 The internal macroscopic gap structure of the square porous lunar soil insulation brick obtained in Example 1; Figure 4 The pore structure inside the melt skeleton of the square porous lunar soil insulation brick obtained in Example 1;

[0085] Embodiment 2

[0086] This example provides a porous lunar soil insulation brick and a preparation method thereof, which is obtained by 3D printing on the lunar surface using lunar soil in situ as raw material. The specific preparation method includes the following steps:

[0087] (1) Select a relatively flat area on the lunar surface, use a mechanism to scrape the surface lunar soil material flat, and then load the in-situ lunar soil material with a crystal size of less than 1 mm after screening into a vibrating powder spreading machine.

[0088] (2) Adjust the focused sunlight spot size to 8-12 mm, and the power within the spot size is not less than 165 W, then guide the focused spot to the area scraped flat in step (1), use the preset scanning path to perform the first layer printing, and the scanning speed is 0.2 mm / s. After the scanning is completed, remove the focused spot to complete the first layer printing.

[0089] (3) Use a vibrating powder spreading machine to spread the second layer of lunar soil material on the first layer printing area, and the powder spreading thickness is preferably 3 mm.

[0090] (4) Move the focused sunlight spot to the printing area, and use the preset scanning path to print the second layer at a scanning speed of 0.2 mm / s. After the scanning is completed, move the focused light spot to complete the second layer printing.

[0091] (5) Repeat steps (3) and (4) to complete the printing of the third to sixth layers, and obtain porous lunar soil insulation bricks after cooling.

[0092] According to one aspect of the present invention, a porous lunar soil insulation brick prepared by the above method is proposed, the structure of which is shown in FIG. Figures 2 to 5 , including a multi-level pore structure. The macroscopic pores are the gaps between the lunar soil melt skeletons in the 2nd to N-1th layers, and the microscopic pores are the pore structures of the lunar soil melt skeletons.

[0093] The microscopic pores are formed when the components in the lunar soil are heated by the focused light spot and evaporated.

[0094] The raw material is 100% lunar soil or simulated lunar soil;

[0095] The porous lunar soil insulation brick of the present invention has a multi-level pore structure, and its macroscopic pores are pre-designed brick structures, which are formed by the unheated area during printing, and the microscopic pore structure is the abundant pores in the lunar soil melt skeleton, which is realized by the volatilization of the volatile matter of the lunar soil material itself. The multi-level pore structure of the porous lunar soil insulation brick can effectively reduce the thermal conductivity of the lunar soil brick and improve the thermal insulation performance. The macroscopic gaps in the porous lunar soil insulation brick can be achieved through a simple 3D printing process, and the designed microscopic pore structure is realized by the volatilization of the volatile matter of the lunar soil material itself, without the need to add additional foaming agents.

[0096] The raw materials used in the porous lunar soil insulation bricks of the present invention are all-in-situ lunar soil materials, and no additional binder is needed, which not only reduces the transportation cost between the Earth and the Moon, but also reduces the production cost. The required lunar soil material has a wide particle size distribution range and a simple screening process, which fully reflects the characteristics of using local materials on the lunar surface.

[0097] It should be noted that although the embodiments of the present invention described above are illustrative, they are not intended to limit the present invention, and therefore the present invention is not limited to the above specific embodiments. Without departing from the principles of the present invention, any other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art under the guidance of the present invention are deemed to be within the protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for preparing porous lunar soil insulation bricks, characterized in that: The steps include: Step S1: In a vacuum environment, the lunar soil is placed in the working area of ​​the 3D printing equipment and the surface of the lunar soil is scraped flat; the lunar soil is heated and melted, and the first layer is printed according to the preset structure to obtain the first layer of thermal insulation bricks; Step S2, laying the screened lunar soil on the first layer of the insulation bricks; heating and melting the lunar soil, and printing the second layer according to the preset skeleton structure; Step S3, repeat step S2, lay the sieved lunar soil on the surface of the previous layer, and complete the printing of the 3rd to N-1th layers; Step S4: laying screened lunar soil on the area printed on the N-1th layer, heating and melting the lunar soil, and printing the top layer according to the brick structure to obtain the porous lunar soil insulation brick.

2. The method for preparing porous lunar soil insulation bricks according to claim 1, characterized in that: Focused sunlight and / or laser irradiation are used to form a focused light spot to heat and melt the lunar soil.

3. The method for preparing porous lunar soil insulation bricks according to claim 2, characterized in that: In the step S1, when the printing scene is the lunar surface, the steps specifically include: Step S11, designing the brick structure of the porous lunar soil insulation brick, and planning the scanning and printing path according to the brick structure; Step S12, selecting a flat area on the lunar surface and scraping the lunar soil on the lunar surface as the raw material for the first layer printing; Step S13, adjusting the parameters of the focused light spot, and guiding the focused light spot to the area of ​​the first layer printing, and the focused light spot uses the scanning printing path to complete the first layer printing; Step S14: After printing is completed, the focusing spot is removed.

4. The method for preparing porous lunar soil insulation bricks according to claim 2, characterized in that: In the step S1, when the printing scene is the earth, the steps specifically include: Step S11, designing the brick structure of the porous lunar soil insulation brick, and planning the scanning and printing path according to the brick structure; Step S12, laying lunar soil or simulated lunar soil in a vacuum chamber as the first layer of printing material; Step S13, adjusting the parameters of the focused light spot, and guiding the focused light spot to the area of ​​the first layer printing, and the focused light spot uses the scanning printing path to complete the first layer printing; Step S14: After printing is completed, the focusing spot is removed.

5. The method for preparing the porous lunar soil insulation brick according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The thickness of the first layer of printed lunar soil material is not less than 10 mm.

6. The method for preparing the porous lunar soil insulation brick according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The spot size of the focused light spot is 8-12 mm, the power is 100-240 W, and the scanning speed of the focused light spot is 0.1-1.2 mm / s.

7. The method for preparing porous lunar soil insulation bricks according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step S2 specifically includes: Step S21, sieving the lunar soil, and then loading the sifted lunar soil into the vibrating powder spreading machine; Step S22, laying the sieved lunar soil on the first layer of the insulation bricks by the vibrating powder laying machine; Step S23, guiding the focused light spot to the area where the second layer is to be printed, and the focused light spot performs second layer printing using the scanning printing path, thereby completing the second layer printing; Step S24: After printing is completed, the focused light spot is removed.

8. The method for preparing porous lunar soil insulation bricks according to claim 7, characterized in that: The particle diameter of the sieved lunar soil is less than 1 mm, and the thickness of the sieved lunar soil raw material is 2 to 4 mm.

9. A porous lunar soil insulation brick prepared by the preparation method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The raw material is 100% lunar soil or simulated lunar soil; The porous lunar soil insulation brick includes a multi-level pore structure, the macroscopic pores are the gaps between the lunar soil melt skeletons in the 2nd to N-1th layers, and the microscopic pores are the pore structures of the lunar soil melt skeletons.

10. The porous lunar soil insulation brick according to claim 9, characterized in that: The microscopic pores are formed when the focused light spot heats the components in the lunar soil to volatilize.

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