Solar sintering of lunar soil system based on inclined feeding and operation method thereof

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of in-situ construction on the moon, and particularly to a solar sintering lunar soil system based on inclined plane material supplementing and a running method thereof. The solar sintering lunar soil system comprises a lunar soil supplementing unit, a light focusing unit and a control unit. The lunar soil supplementing unit releases lunar soil to form a lunar soil accumulation inclined plane. The light focusing unit focuses sunlight on the surface of the moon to form a light spot, and the light spot is irradiated on the lunar soil accumulation inclined plane, and the irradiation position of the light spot constitutes a lunar soil sintering area. The control unit is in communication connection with the lunar soil supplementing unit, and regulates the flow of the lunar soil supplementing unit to the lunar soil accumulation inclined plane. The system not only can reduce the influence of uneven energy flow distribution and poor lunar soil fluidity on the lunar soil sintering process, and realize uniform and efficient sintering of lunar soil, but also can realize efficient conversion of energy through a simple structure, reduce the dependence on earth energy and resources, and better adapt to the extreme environment of the moon.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of in-situ lunar surface construction, specifically to a solar-powered sintered lunar soil system based on inclined surface feeding and its operation method. Background Technology

[0002] With the global supply and demand imbalance of non-renewable resources intensifying, the development and utilization of the moon is seen as an effective way to overcome Earth's resource limitations and seek sustainable development. Lunar soil, as an important in-situ lunar resource, is a key scientific and engineering objective for future lunar base construction, and its processing into building materials is crucial.

[0003] Compared to traditional lunar soil forming methods that rely on binders for bonding and curing, or on chemical reagents for reaction curing, solar-powered direct melting and sintering of lunar soil has greater technological potential for lunar soil utilization. This method offers advantages such as lower energy and resource requirements from Earth and higher cured strength in the resulting building materials. Furthermore, it eliminates the need for multiple energy conversion processes involving the initial conversion of solar energy into electrical energy followed by sintering using electrothermal, microwave, or laser methods, resulting in a simpler structure, higher energy conversion efficiency, and better adaptability to the extreme lunar environment.

[0004] However, traditional solar direct melting and sintering methods for forming lunar regolith may suffer from sintering defects such as porosity, cracks, and warping due to uneven energy flow distribution from the concentrated solar beams and uneven heating of the lunar regolith surface. Furthermore, during concentrated solar sintering, the surface particles of the lunar regolith components shrink and collapse, forming depressions the size of the light spot. The poor fluidity of the lunar regolith particles around these depressions prevents them from filling them promptly, leading to increased particle spacing, voids, and other defects, potentially resulting in a decrease in the strength of the sintered components. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the above problems, this invention provides a solar-powered lunar soil sintering system based on inclined surface feeding and its operation method, which can reduce the impact of uneven energy flow distribution and poor lunar soil fluidity on the lunar soil sintering process, and achieve uniform and efficient sintering of lunar soil.

[0006] The first aspect of this invention provides a solar-powered sintered lunar soil system based on inclined surface feeding, the solar-powered sintered lunar soil system comprising:

[0007] Lunar soil replenishment unit, releases lunar soil to form a lunar soil accumulation slope;

[0008] The light-focusing unit focuses sunlight from the lunar surface to form a light spot, which illuminates the slope of the lunar regolith deposit. The area illuminated by the light spot constitutes the sintering region of the lunar regolith.

[0009] The control unit communicates with the lunar soil feeding unit and regulates the flow rate of the lunar soil feeding unit to feed the lunar soil accumulation slope.

[0010] Optionally, the control unit is connected to the concentrating unit in communication, and adjusts the scanning rate of the concentrating unit to track the sun's position and the light spot in the lunar soil sintering area according to the monitored sun position and radiation intensity in different time periods;

[0011] The focusing unit includes a secondary reflection concentrator, which includes:

[0012] One condenser lens,

[0013] The secondary reflector focuses sunlight from the lunar surface onto the mirror surface of the primary reflector, and then reflects it to the sintered lunar soil region.

[0014] Optionally, the primary condenser is a rotating parabolic disc mirror with an edge angle ranging from 40° to 50°; the secondary reflector is a plane mirror, a parabolic mirror, a hyperboloid mirror, or an ellipsoidal mirror.

[0015] Optionally, the focusing unit may also include a moving device;

[0016] The moving device is fixedly connected to the secondary reflector concentrator, driving the secondary reflector concentrator to move relative to the lunar regolith accumulation slope; or...

[0017] The lunar soil accumulation slope is equipped with a moving device, which drives the lunar soil accumulation slope to move relative to the light spot.

[0018] Optionally, the control unit controls the concentrating unit to perform line-by-line scanning sintering of the lunar soil sintering area.

[0019] Optionally, the lunar soil feeding unit includes a lunar soil storage tank with an opening at the bottom, through which lunar soil is discharged from the lunar soil storage tank;

[0020] The opening is equipped with a valve, and the opening and closing status and opening degree of the valve are controlled by the control unit.

[0021] Optionally, the sintering temperature of the lunar soil on the lunar soil accumulation slope is 1000–1150℃.

[0022] Optionally, the control unit includes:

[0023] A light intensity sensor monitors the light intensity on the lunar surface where the solar-powered sintered lunar soil system is located.

[0024] Azimuth tracking sensor,

[0025] The elevation angle tracking sensor, together with the azimuth angle tracking sensor, monitors the sun's position information. Based on the monitoring results of the azimuth angle tracking sensor and the elevation angle tracking sensor, the concentrating unit adopts a dual-axis automatic tracking method to locate and track the sun's position.

[0026] Infrared thermal imager to monitor lunar soil temperature and sintering status in lunar soil sintering areas;

[0027] The analysis feedback regulator is connected in communication with the light intensity sensor, azimuth tracking sensor, elevation tracking sensor, lunar soil feeding unit, and focusing unit to control the orientation of the opening of the primary focusing mirror and the position and moving speed of the moving device relative to the lunar soil accumulation slope.

[0028] A second aspect of the present invention provides an operating method for the above-described inclined surface feeding-based solar sintering lunar soil system, the operating method comprising the following steps:

[0029] Slope formation steps: Lunar soil is released and deposited by the lunar soil feeding unit to form a lunar soil deposit slope;

[0030] Concentrated light sintering step: Using the secondary reflection concentrator of the concentrating unit, sunlight on the lunar surface is focused into a light spot and irradiated onto the lunar regolith accumulation slope. The irradiated area of ​​the light spot constitutes the lunar regolith sintering area.

[0031] Control steps: The flow rate of the lunar soil feeding unit to the lunar soil accumulation slope is regulated by the control unit.

[0032] Optionally, the running method further includes:

[0033] Movement steps: The control unit regulates the secondary reflector to track the sun's position, and controls the movement direction and speed of the moving device to drive the light spot to scan and sinter the lunar soil sintering area line by line.

[0034] The solar-powered lunar soil sintering system based on inclined surface feeding provided by this invention can directly utilize the heat converted from concentrated solar energy to sinter lunar soil. This system has a simple structure and high energy conversion rate, exhibiting low dependence on Earth's energy and resources and adapting well to the extreme lunar environment. Simultaneously, the system regulates the lunar soil feed flow at the top of the inclined surface through a control unit, and utilizes lunar gravity to self-drive the feed flow on the inclined surface. This enables continuous filling of the sintering area with lunar soil at the contraction points formed by high-temperature sintering, ensuring denser sintering of the lunar soil components and preventing large pores and voids caused by the separation of lunar soil particles. Attached Figure Description

[0035] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a solar-powered sintered lunar soil system based on inclined surface feeding, provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of a secondary reflection concentrator provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Reference numerals: 100-Solar sintering lunar soil system, 1-Concentrating unit, 11-Secondary reflector concentrator, 111-Primary concentrator, 112-Secondary reflector, 113-Support rod, 12-Moving device, 2-Lunar soil accumulation slope, 21-Lunar soil sintering area, 22-Non-sintering area, 3-Lunar soil feeding unit, 31-Lunar soil storage tank, 32-Valve, 4-Control unit, 41-Analysis feedback regulator, 42-Light intensity sensor, 43-Azimuth tracking sensor, 44-Elevation tracking sensor, 45-Infrared thermal imager, 5-Backplate. Detailed Implementation

[0038] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0039] In order to achieve the goal of establishing a large-scale, low-cost lunar base in the future, this embodiment provides a solar-powered sintered lunar soil system 100, which prepares building materials by sintering lunar soil in situ, thereby reducing the expensive transportation costs between the moon and the earth.

[0040] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a solar-powered sintered lunar soil system 100 provided in this embodiment. (Reference) Figure 1 The solar-powered sintering lunar soil system 100 provided in this embodiment includes a lunar soil feeding unit 3, a concentrating unit 1, and a control unit 4. The lunar soil feeding unit 3 releases lunar soil to form a lunar soil accumulation slope 2; the concentrating unit 1 focuses sunlight from the lunar surface to form a light spot, which irradiates the lunar soil accumulation slope 2, and the irradiated area constitutes the lunar soil sintering region 21; the control unit 4 is communicatively connected to the lunar soil feeding unit 3 and regulates the flow rate of the lunar soil feeding unit 3 feeding the lunar soil accumulation slope 2.

[0041] In this embodiment, the lunar soil used is in granular form. When heated, the lunar soil particles bond together. As the temperature rises, atomic diffusion occurs at the sintering necks (contact points or surfaces) between the particles, forming preliminary grain bonding. This bonding continues to increase under grain boundary diffusion. The pores between the particles sequentially spheroidize, shrink, and isolate, resulting in increased density and significantly improved strength of the formed lunar soil component. However, during the sintering of lunar soil using concentrated solar energy, the surface particles of the lunar soil shrink and collapse due to the high temperature of the light spot, forming depressions the size of the light spot. However, lunar soil particles in a flat or slightly sloped state have poor flowability, making it difficult for the particles around the depressions to fill them in time. As the sintering process continues, the interparticle spacing within the sintered lunar soil component may increase, leading to discontinuous molten pools and voids, thereby reducing the strength of the lunar soil component.

[0042] To avoid the problem of shrinkage points being difficult to fill in a timely manner, in this embodiment, the lunar soil feeding unit 3 releases lunar soil particles downwards, allowing the particles to first form a natural accumulation on the lunar surface under the influence of lunar gravity. A lunar soil accumulation slope 2 is formed on the surface of this accumulation. Sunlight spots generated by the focusing unit 1 irradiate the lunar soil accumulation slope 2. During the sintering process of the irradiated lunar soil particles by the sunlight spots, the lunar soil feeding unit 3 continues to feed material to the top of the lunar soil accumulation slope 2. Driven by lunar gravity, the lunar soil particles roll down the surface of the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 and fill the shrinkage points generated during sintering, thereby ensuring a denser sintering of the lunar soil component. In this embodiment, to make the formation of the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 of the accumulation body more convenient and the slope controllable, while reducing the total amount of lunar soil particles required to form the accumulation body, reference is made to... Figure 1 The solar-powered sintered lunar soil system 100 also includes a back plate 5 placed perpendicular to the lunar surface. The lunar soil feeding unit 3 is located on the top of the back plate 5 and releases lunar soil particles downward along one side of the back plate 5. Driven by lunar gravity, the released lunar soil particles naturally fall to the angle between the back plate 5 and the lunar surface, and naturally form an accumulation body of lunar soil accumulation slope 2 with a certain slope.

[0043] In this embodiment, the lunar soil feeding unit 3 includes a lunar soil storage tank 31, which can store lunar soil particles for sintering. (Reference) Figure 1 The lunar soil storage tank 31 has an opening at the bottom. After the lunar soil in the lunar soil storage tank 31 is discharged through the opening, it falls down along the side of the back plate 5 by gravity to form an accumulation and to fill the shrinkage points on the surface of the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 caused by sintering. In order to make the flow rate of lunar soil discharged from the lunar soil storage tank 31 controllable, a valve 32 is provided at the opening, and the opening state and opening degree of the valve 32 are controlled by the control unit 4.

[0044] The solar-powered sintered lunar soil system 100 provided in this embodiment is controlled by a control unit 4. The control unit 4 includes a light intensity sensor 42 and an analysis feedback regulator 41. The light intensity sensor 42 is used to monitor the light intensity at the location of the solar-powered sintered lunar soil system 100 on the lunar surface. When the light intensity sensor 42 detects that the light intensity at the location of the solar-powered sintered lunar soil system 100 reaches a certain value, it indicates that it is suitable for lunar soil sintering. In this embodiment, the value is set to 1300 W / m. 2 When the light intensity value is reached, the light intensity sensor 42 transmits the light intensity information to the analysis feedback regulator 41, which then outputs adjustment information to the lunar soil feeding unit 3. Based on the received adjustment information, the lunar soil feeding unit 3 first fully opens the valve 32 at the bottom opening of the lunar soil storage tank 31, allowing the lunar soil inside the tank to be rapidly released and fall by gravity to form an accumulation. Once the accumulation reaches the preset volume and the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 reaches the preset slope, the control unit 4 closes the valve 32 or adjusts it to a smaller opening to maintain the overall stability of the accumulation. Subsequently, when the light spot emitted by the focusing unit 1 irradiates the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 and sinterstens the lunar soil, the control unit 4, based on monitoring whether shrinkage points are generated during the sintering process and the size of the generated shrinkage points, sends a communication signal to the lunar soil feeding unit 3 again to regulate the opening and closing status and opening degree of the valve 32 at the opening of the lunar soil storage tank 31. If a depression appears on the lunar soil accumulation slope 2, the valve 32 is opened slightly wider, resulting in a slight increase in the flow rate of lunar soil particles discharged through the opening of the lunar soil storage tank 31. At this time, the discharged lunar soil particles fall to the top of the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 due to gravity and continue to roll down its surface. Some particles roll into the depression, filling it until it is basically level with the surface of the lunar soil accumulation slope 2. The remaining lunar soil particles that do not fill the depression will continue to roll to the bottom of the lunar soil accumulation slope 2, where they can be collected and transferred to the lunar soil storage tank 31 for reuse.

[0045] Because the Moon's position relative to the Sun is constantly changing, the position of the lunar surface where the solar-powered sintering lunar soil system 100 is located relative to the Sun, and the intensity of solar radiation it receives, are also constantly changing. Simultaneously, because the light spot formed by the concentrating unit 1 has a small concentrating area on the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 (approximately 5 mm in radius), to complete the sintering of the entire lunar soil sintering region 21, the light spot needs to scan and irradiate the region. When the Sun's position changes, the energy flux density of the solar energy received by the concentrating unit 1 fluctuates, affecting the scanning rate of the light spot. Specifically, when the solar radiation intensity received by the concentrating unit 1 is low, the energy flux density of the light spot decreases accordingly. In order for the lunar soil components sintered in the lunar soil sintering region 21 to meet other performance indicators such as strength, it is necessary to appropriately reduce the scanning rate of the light spot on the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 so that the lunar soil can be fully sintered. When the solar radiation intensity received by the concentrating unit 1 is high, the energy flux density of the light spot increases accordingly. In order to avoid the lunar soil sintering region 21 being over-sintered by the light spot, causing the microstructure of the lunar soil to become out of control, and thus leading to the deterioration of the performance of the sintered lunar soil components and making them unusable, it is necessary to appropriately increase the scanning rate of the light spot on the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 to avoid the lunar soil being over-sintered.

[0046] In order to suppress the influence of fluctuations in solar irradiance intensity at different times on the moon on the sintering temperature and to achieve controllable adjustment of the sintering process of the solar sintering lunar soil system 100, in this embodiment, the control unit 4 is communicatively connected to the concentrating unit 1. Based on the monitored solar position and radiation intensity at different time periods, the control unit 4 adjusts the scanning rate of the concentrating unit 1 in tracking the solar position and the light spot in the lunar soil sintering area 21.

[0047] In this embodiment, the focusing unit 1 includes a secondary reflection focusing unit 11. Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the secondary reflection concentrator 11 in this embodiment. (Reference) Figure 1 and Figure 2 The secondary reflector 11 includes a primary concentrator 111 and a secondary reflector 112, which are connected by a support rod 113. When the solar-powered lunar soil sintering system 100 starts operating, some of the sunlight hitting the lunar surface shines on the sun-facing side of the primary concentrator 111. The inner surface of the primary concentrator 111 then focuses the collected sunlight onto the mirror surface of the secondary reflector 112 on the side facing away from the sun. Finally, the mirror surface of the secondary reflector 112 reflects the focused light spot onto the lunar soil accumulation slope 2, using the heat of the light spot to sinter the lunar soil and form a lunar soil sintering region 21.

[0048] In this embodiment, the sintering temperature of the lunar regolith on the lunar regolith accumulation slope 2 is 1000–1150°C. To enable the secondary reflector 11 to more effectively concentrate the collected sunlight into a light spot with a high energy flux density, thereby heating the lunar regolith to the sintering temperature, the primary concentrator 111 in this embodiment is selected as a parabolic rotating disc mirror. Depending on the actual selection environment and photothermal conversion target, the secondary reflector 112 can be selected as a plane mirror, parabolic mirror, hyperboloid mirror, ellipsoidal mirror, or other reflectors, without specific limitations. More preferably, the secondary reflector 112 is selected as a plane mirror. By using a combination of a parabolic rotating disc mirror and a plane mirror as the secondary reflector 11 in this embodiment, not only can a high light concentration ratio be achieved to provide a high temperature of over 1000°C at the focal point, but also a photothermal conversion efficiency of over 75% can be achieved.

[0049] Combination Figure 2 The generatrix equation and edge angle of the primary condenser lens 111 are expressed as equations (1)-(2):

[0050] x 2 =4fz (1)

[0051]

[0052] Where D0 and f are the diameter and focal length of the primary condenser lens 111, respectively. The relative position m of the focal point is defined as the ratio of the distance from the focal point F' to the vertex O of the primary lens to f, as shown in equation (3).

[0053] m=|OF′| / f (3) For the secondary reflecting mirror 112, its focal length f s The receiving angle θ, radius r, and placement position Z0 are shown in equations (4)-(7).

[0054] f s =f-mf (4)

[0055]

[0056] Z0=0.5f(1+m) (7) In order to make the secondary reflection condenser 11 have a large reflectivity, it is more preferably that the value of D0 in the primary condenser 111 is in the range of 900mm~1100mm, and the edge angle The range is 40° to 50°. More preferably, the value of D0 is set to 1000 mm, and the edge angle... Choosing a 45° angle, the maximum reflectivity of the secondary reflector concentrator 11 can reach approximately 11,100 times, sufficient to generate a temperature (1000–1150°C) suitable for sintering lunar regolith. In this embodiment, the mirror material of the secondary reflector concentrator 11 is an ultra-thin silver-plated reflector, and the substrate material is fiberglass. The secondary reflector concentrator 11, made of these materials, has a simple structure and is lightweight, reducing transportation costs between Earth and the Moon and facilitating systematic arrangement to effectively concentrate sunlight into a high-heat-flux spot and reflect it to a designated location for sintering lunar regolith. In other embodiments, appropriate equipment parameters and manufacturing materials for the secondary reflector concentrator 11 can be selected based on the actual operating environment and sintering objectives; no specific limitations are imposed here.

[0057] To ensure that the secondary reflector concentrator 11 can collect sunlight to a greater extent during the current period, the opening plane of the primary concentrator mirror 111 of the secondary reflector concentrator 11 needs to be adjusted to be perpendicular to the sunlight. As the moon moves relative to the sun, in order to maintain the opening plane of the primary concentrator mirror 111 of the secondary reflector concentrator 11 as perpendicular to the sunlight as possible during the sintering of lunar soil by the solar energy sintering lunar soil system 100, the opening of the primary concentrator mirror 111 of the secondary reflector concentrator 11 needs to be adjusted constantly to track the sun's position. To make the adjustment process of the secondary reflector concentrator 11 more timely and efficient, in this embodiment, the control unit 4 also includes an azimuth tracking sensor 43 and an altitude tracking sensor 44 for jointly monitoring the sun's position information. Specifically, the monitoring process is as follows: when the sun's position relative to the solar-sintered lunar soil system 100 changes in the east-west and north-south directions, the azimuth tracking sensor 43 and the altitude tracking sensor 44 respectively detect deviation signals. These deviation signals are amplified and transmitted to the analysis feedback regulator 41, which then transmits a feedback control signal to the secondary reflector concentrator 11 to adjust the mirror orientation until the deviation signal is reduced to zero. In this embodiment, based on the position monitoring results of the sun at different times by the azimuth tracking sensor 43 and the altitude tracking sensor 44, the secondary reflector concentrator 11 in the concentrating unit 1 adopts a dual-axis automatic tracking method to locate and track the sun's position, ensuring that the opening plane of the primary concentrator mirror 111 is as perpendicular as possible to the sunlight. According to the above embodiment, the concentrating unit 1 can receive sunlight to the maximum extent to improve solar energy utilization.

[0058] To facilitate the scanning of the light spot emitted by the focusing unit 1 on the lunar regolith accumulation slope 2 to form the lunar regolith sintering region 21, in this embodiment, the focusing unit 1 further includes a moving device 12. This moving device 12 is installed at the bottom of the secondary reflector 11 and fixedly connected to it, driving the secondary reflector 11 to move relative to the lunar regolith accumulation slope 2. Simultaneously, the moving device 12 is communicatively connected to the control unit 4, which regulates the direction and speed of movement of the moving device 12, thereby controlling the movement of the light spot on the lunar regolith accumulation slope 2. Specifically, the control unit 4 in this embodiment also includes an infrared thermal imager 45, primarily used to monitor the lunar regolith temperature and sintering state of the lunar regolith sintering region 21, and can also be used to collect environmental information. The information collected by the infrared thermal imager 45 is transmitted to the analysis feedback regulator 41. Upon receiving the lunar soil sintering information, the analysis feedback regulator 41 combines the real-time illumination intensity information and real-time solar position information input from the light intensity sensor 42, azimuth tracking sensor 43, and elevation tracking sensor 44. The analysis feedback regulator 41 then issues a control command to the moving device 12, causing it to move to a designated position at an appropriate speed. Alternatively, the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 can be equipped with the moving device 12, and the position of the light spot emitted by the secondary reflector 11 relative to the moon can be kept fixed. When the moving device 12 drives the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 to move relative to the fixed light spot, the fixed light spot scans and sinters the lunar soil on the surface of the lunar soil accumulation slope 2. The configuration of the moving device 12 can be determined according to the actual application scenario of the solar-powered lunar soil sintering system 100. In other embodiments, the moving device 12 can also be configured in other ways to scan and sinter the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 with the light spot; no specific limitations are imposed here. Meanwhile, in order to further achieve uniformity, continuity and efficiency in the lunar soil sintering process, the analysis feedback regulator 41 synchronously adjusts the lunar soil feeding unit 3 and the secondary reflector 11. Specifically, it adjusts the opening degree of the opening valve 32 of the lunar soil storage tank 31 and the mirror orientation of the secondary reflector 11. Through the coordinated adjustment of each component, the influence of fluctuations in the solar position and irradiance intensity at different times on the sintering temperature on the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 is suppressed, thereby achieving controllable adjustment of the lunar soil sintering process.

[0059] The energy flux density of the light spot emitted by the focusing unit 1 approximately exhibits a Gaussian distribution, decreasing radially from the center, with the energy flux density at the edge of the spot being only about 1 / 10 of that at the center. If a fixed light spot is used for direct sintering of lunar soil, it is easy to cause a large temperature difference in the lunar soil sintering region 21, resulting in large local thermal stress, leading to sintering defects such as porosity, cracks, and warping, and causing a decrease in the strength of the sintered component. Therefore, in this embodiment, the control unit 4 controls the focusing unit 1 to perform line-by-line scanning sintering of the lunar soil sintering region 21, which effectively alleviates the temperature difference between different locations within the lunar soil sintering region 21, thereby avoiding the aforementioned defects in the sintered lunar soil component and further improving the strength of the sintered lunar soil component.

[0060] To make the sintering process of lunar soil components more efficient and ensure that the strength and other performance indicators of the lunar soil components meet the standards, it is necessary to fill the non-sintering region 22 surrounding the lunar soil sintering region 21 with insulating material to maintain the temperature stability of the lunar soil sintering region 21. Since the thermal conductivity of lunar soil is around 0.01 W / (m·K), it is an excellent natural insulating material. Therefore, in this embodiment, the lunar soil in the non-sintering region 22 can be directly used as an insulating layer, thereby reducing the cost of transporting insulating material from Earth to the Moon. Simultaneously, to ensure the normal operation of the solar-powered sintered lunar soil system 100, it is necessary to provide the system with the required electrical energy. Considering the low cost and sufficient efficiency of solar cell devices, this embodiment utilizes gallium arsenide solar cells for power supply. In other embodiments, those skilled in the art can select other power sources for power supply according to actual conditions, and no specific limitations are made here.

[0061] This embodiment also provides an operating method applied to a solar sintering lunar soil system 100 based on inclined surface feeding, including the following execution steps: inclined surface forming step, concentrated sintering step, and control step.

[0062] The following describes the execution steps of this running method.

[0063] <Steps for forming a slope>

[0064] When the light intensity sensor 42 of the control unit 4 detects that the light intensity at the lunar location of the solar sintering lunar soil system 100 reaches a preset value, the analysis feedback regulator 41 receives the light intensity information and outputs adjustment information to the lunar soil feeding unit 3. Upon receiving the adjustment information, the lunar soil feeding unit 3 fully opens the opening valve 32 of the lunar soil storage tank 31, releasing lunar soil particles through the opening of the lunar soil storage tank 31. These particles then fall freely under gravity to form a natural accumulation, the surface of which has a lunar soil accumulation slope 2. The lunar soil particles continuously released from the lunar soil storage tank 31 roll down along the lunar soil accumulation slope 2.

[0065] <Focusing sintering steps>

[0066] Using the secondary reflector 11 of the focusing unit 1, sunlight from the lunar surface is focused into a high-energy-flux-density spot and irradiated onto the lunar regolith accumulation slope 2. The irradiated area constitutes the lunar regolith sintering region 21. The heat from the spot is used to heat and sinter the lunar regolith on the lunar regolith accumulation slope 2.

[0067] <Control Steps>

[0068] During the concentrated light sintering process, the surface of the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 will form shrinkage points due to the light spot sintering, which will affect the strength or other performance indicators of the lunar soil components. Therefore, the infrared thermal imager 45 of the control unit 4 monitors the sintering temperature and sintering state of the lunar soil sintering area 21, and at the same time combines the light radiation intensity information fed back by other sensors, the analysis feedback regulator 41 sends adjustment information to the lunar soil feeding unit 3. Upon receiving the adjustment information, the lunar soil feeding unit 3 adjusts the opening of the valve 32 set at the opening of the lunar soil storage tank 31, so that the flow rate of lunar soil particles falling onto the lunar soil accumulation slope 2 can fully meet the filling of the shrinkage points.

[0069] In other embodiments, the provided operating method further includes a movement step.

[0070] <Moving Steps>

[0071] Because the sun's position changes constantly during the sintering process of lunar soil, the azimuth tracking sensor 43 and elevation tracking sensor 44 of the control unit 4 need to monitor and transmit the sun's position information in real time to the analysis feedback regulator 41. The analysis feedback regulator 41 then controls the secondary reflector concentrator 11 to track the sun's position, keeping the normal of the concentrating surface of the primary concentrator 111 parallel to the sunlight to maximize the reception of solar energy. Simultaneously, using the monitoring data from multiple sensors in the control unit 4, the analysis feedback regulator 41 controls the movement direction and speed of the moving device 12, thereby driving the light spot to scan and sinter the lunar soil sintering area 21 line by line.

[0072] After the solar-powered sintering lunar soil system 100 completes the above steps, the lunar soil in the lunar soil sintering area 21 can be demolded to form lunar soil bricks, which can meet the requirements as building materials.

[0073] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A solar-powered sintering lunar soil system based on inclined surface feeding, characterized in that, include: Lunar soil replenishment unit, releases lunar soil to form a lunar soil accumulation slope; A light-focusing unit focuses sunlight from the lunar surface to form a light spot, which illuminates the lunar regolith accumulation slope, and the illuminated area of ​​the light spot constitutes the lunar regolith sintering region; The control unit is communicatively connected to the lunar soil feeding unit and regulates the flow rate of the lunar soil feeding unit to feed the lunar soil accumulation slope. The control unit is also communicatively connected to the focusing unit and, based on the monitored solar position and radiation intensity at different time periods, regulates the focusing unit to track the solar position and the scanning rate of the light spot in the lunar soil sintering area. The focusing unit includes a secondary reflection concentrator, which includes: One condenser lens, A secondary reflector is used to focus sunlight from the lunar surface onto the mirror surface of the secondary reflector after it passes through the inner surface of the primary focusing mirror, and then reflects it to the lunar regolith sintering region. The focusing unit also includes a moving device; The moving device is fixedly connected to the secondary reflector, driving the secondary reflector to move relative to the lunar regolith accumulation slope; or... The lunar soil accumulation slope is equipped with the moving device, which drives the lunar soil accumulation slope to move relative to the light spot.

2. The solar-powered sintered lunar soil system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The primary condenser is a rotating parabolic disc mirror with an edge angle ranging from 40° to 50°; the secondary reflector is a plane mirror, a parabolic mirror, a hyperboloid mirror, or an ellipsoidal mirror.

3. The solar-powered sintered lunar soil system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control unit controls the focusing unit to perform line-by-line scanning and sintering of the lunar soil sintering area.

4. The solar-powered sintered lunar soil system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lunar soil feeding unit includes a lunar soil storage tank with an opening at the bottom, through which lunar soil is discharged from the lunar soil storage tank. The opening is equipped with a valve, and the opening and closing state and the degree of opening of the valve are controlled by the control unit.

5. The solar-powered sintered lunar soil system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sintering temperature of the lunar soil on the lunar soil accumulation slope is 1000~1150℃.

6. The solar-powered sintered lunar soil system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control unit includes: A light intensity sensor monitors the light intensity on the lunar surface where the solar-powered sintered lunar soil system is located. Azimuth tracking sensor, An elevation angle tracking sensor, together with an azimuth angle tracking sensor, monitors the sun's position information. Based on the monitoring results of the azimuth angle tracking sensor and the elevation angle tracking sensor, the concentrating unit uses a dual-axis automatic tracking method to locate and track the sun's position. Infrared thermal imager is used to monitor the lunar soil temperature and sintering status in the lunar soil sintering area; The analysis feedback regulator is communicatively connected to the light intensity sensor, the azimuth tracking sensor, the elevation tracking sensor, the lunar soil feeding unit, and the focusing unit, and controls the orientation of the opening of the primary focusing mirror and the position and movement speed of the moving device relative to the lunar soil accumulation slope.

7. A method for operating a solar-powered sintered lunar soil system based on inclined surface feeding as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: The slope formation step involves releasing lunar soil from the lunar soil feeding unit and accumulating it to form the lunar soil accumulation slope. Concentrated light sintering step: Using the secondary reflection concentrator of the concentrating unit, sunlight on the lunar surface is focused into a light spot and irradiated onto the lunar soil accumulation slope. The irradiated area of ​​the light spot constitutes the lunar soil sintering area. Control steps: The control unit is used to regulate the flow rate of the lunar soil feeding unit to the lunar soil accumulation slope.

8. The operating method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Also includes: Movement steps: The control unit is used to regulate the secondary reflector to track the sun's position, and to regulate the movement direction and speed of the moving device, driving the light spot to scan and sinter the lunar soil sintering area line by line.

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