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Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

Combustion Joining Of Regolith Tiles For The Construction Of Launch And Landing Pads On The Moon And Mars, Robert Edwin Ferguson Jan 2018

Combustion Joining Of Regolith Tiles For The Construction Of Launch And Landing Pads On The Moon And Mars, Robert Edwin Ferguson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Combustion-based methods are attractive for space manufacturing because the use of chemical energy stored in reactants dramatically decreases the required external energy input. Recently, a sintering technique has been developed for converting lunar/Martian regolith into ceramic tiles, but it is unclear how to build a reliable launch/landing pad from these tiles with small amounts of energy and materials. Here the feasibility of joining regolith tiles using self-propagating high-temperature reactions between two metals powders is explored. Combustion of a 1:1 molar aluminum/nickel mixture placed in a gap between two tiles, made of JSC-1A lunar regolith simulant, was studied in an argon …


Mechanically Activated Combustion Synthesis Of Molybdenum Borosilicides For Ultrahigh-Temperature Structural Applications, Alan Alberto Esparza Hernandez Jan 2016

Mechanically Activated Combustion Synthesis Of Molybdenum Borosilicides For Ultrahigh-Temperature Structural Applications, Alan Alberto Esparza Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The desire to improve the efficiency of power generation gas-turbines has led to a relentless quest for new, ultrahigh-temperature structural materials to replace the current nickel-based superalloys. These materials have reached the maximum allowable operating temperature determined by the melting temperature of these alloys, which is about 1150 °C. These materials could be replaced by molybdenum silicides and borosilicides based on Mo5SiB 2 (T2) phase due to their high melting point and mechanical properties. A major challenge, however, is to simultaneously achieve high oxidation resistance and acceptable mechanical properties at elevated temperatures. One novel approach to improve these properties is …


Combustion Synthesis Of Molybdenum Silicides And Borosilicides For Ultrahigh-Temperature Structural Applications, Mohammad Shafiul Alam Jan 2014

Combustion Synthesis Of Molybdenum Silicides And Borosilicides For Ultrahigh-Temperature Structural Applications, Mohammad Shafiul Alam

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Molybdenum silicides and borosilicides are promising structural materials for gas-turbine power plants. A major challenge, however, is to simultaneously achieve high oxidation resistance and acceptable mechanical properties at high temperatures. For example, molybdenum disilicide (MoSi2) has excellent oxidation resistance and poor mechanical properties, while Mo-rich silicides such as Mo5Si3 (called T1) have much better mechanical properties but poor oxidation resistance. One approach is based on the fabrication of MoSi2−T1 composites that combine high oxidation resistance of MoSi2 and good mechanical properties of T1. Another approach involves the …


Combustion Of Lunar Regolith Mixed With Energetic Additives: Thermodynamic Calculations And Experimental Studies, Francisco Alvarez Jan 2011

Combustion Of Lunar Regolith Mixed With Energetic Additives: Thermodynamic Calculations And Experimental Studies, Francisco Alvarez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The future of space exploration will require longer missions in order to better understand the conditions of near-Earth celestial objects, like the Moon or Mars. Future space missions will require the development of goods, such as propulsion fuel and structural materials, produced using the extraterrestrial resources available. The area that develops these technologies is called In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). ISRU allows reducing the payload, and as a consequence reduces the energy consumption and cost of space travel. The production of structural materials on the Moon can be accomplished using Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis (SHS). This work describes the combination of ISRU …