While the 5% Mars regolith parts were strong, the 100% regolith parts were brittle and cracked easily. Still, even materials high in Mars would be useful in making coatings to protect equipment from rust or radiation damage, said Amit Bandyopadhyay, corresponding author of the study published in the International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology.
Bandyopadhyay first demonstrated the feasibility of this idea in 2011 when his team used 3D printing to create parts from lunar regolith, simulated crushed lunar rock, for NASA. Since then, space agencies have embraced the technology, and the International Space Station has its own 3D printers to produce needed materials on site and for experiments.
For this study, Bandyopadhyay, along with graduate students Ali Afrouzian and Kellen Traxel, used a powder-based 3D printer to mix the simulated Martian rock dust with an alloy of titanium, a metal commonly used in space exploration due to its strength and heat resistance. As part of the process, a high-power laser heated the materials to over 2,000 degrees Celsius (3,632 F). Then the molten mixture of Martian regolith ceramic and metal material flowed onto a movable platform that allowed researchers to create different sizes and shapes. After the material cooled, the researchers tested it for strength and durability.
The ceramic material, which is 100% Martian rock dust, cracked on cooling, but as Bandyopadhyay pointed out, it could still make good coatings for radiation shields because cracking isn’t a factor in this context. But just a little bit of Martian dust, the 5% regolith mix, not only didn’t crack or bubble, but also exhibited better properties than the titanium alloy alone, meaning it could be made into lighter parts that could still carry heavy loads.
“It gives you a better material with higher strength and hardness, so it can perform significantly better in some applications,” he said.
This study is just a start, Bandyopadhyay said, and future research could yield better composites using different metals or 3D printing techniques.
“This shows that it’s possible, and maybe we should be thinking along these lines, because it’s not just about making plastic parts that are weak, but metal-ceramic composite parts that are strong and used for any type of structural part.” be able.” he said.
Source and top image: Washington State University
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