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Florida Tech In-Situ Resource Utilization Design for Oxygen Production from Lunar Regolith

Florida Tech In-Situ Resource Utilization Design for Oxygen Production from Lunar Regolith. FIT ISRU Design Team April 8, 2005 Faculty Advisors: Dr. Hamid Rassoul and Dr. James Mantovani Faculty Consultant: Dr. Samuel T. Durrance. Concepts of Operations.

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Florida Tech In-Situ Resource Utilization Design for Oxygen Production from Lunar Regolith

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  1. Florida Tech In-Situ Resource Utilization Design for Oxygen Production from Lunar Regolith FIT ISRU Design Team April 8, 2005 Faculty Advisors: Dr. Hamid Rassoul and Dr. James Mantovani Faculty Consultant: Dr. Samuel T. Durrance

  2. Concepts of Operations • The mission will take a total of 10 days running the excavation system and 20 days of running electrolysis in the reaction chamber. • The following compilation of operational modes will be addressed in the design of the mission timeline. • Transit Mode • Initialization and System Calibration • Acquiring Regolith • Electrolysis of the Regolith • Purification of Samples and Data Collection • Standby Mode Preliminary Design Review Video Conference

  3. The Robotic Arm • The robotic arm by CrustCrawler Inc. has features including • A mass of 1.06kg (before modifications). • A reach of 45.1cm. • Five-axis design. • Programmable electronics. • Mass lifting capability of 2.42kg in the lunar environment. • The arm’s functionality will be analyzed in a “test box” complete with lunar soil simulant. Preliminary Design Review Video Conference

  4. Robotic Arm - Sensor and Attachments • The arm will be equipped with the following additional devices: • A scooping and sifting mechanism. • A drill. • An infrared range finder. • And, a torque monitor. • At the base of the arm, a Raman Spectrometer will be attached to analyze soil content before extraction. Sifting Attachment Scoop Preliminary Design Review Video Conference

  5. Molten Silicate Electrolysis • The following list of advantages of M.S.E. make it a leading candidate reaction for in – situ oxygen separation. • High concentration of silicates in the lunar regolith; roughly 45% by weight. • Relatively high efficiency (as compared to other extraction methods). • Ease of separation of oxygen from byproducts (requires only melting of regolith and electrolysis). • The following list of disadvantages will be addressed in the design of this experiment. • High temperatures (power) required for reaction to take place. • High corrosion rates of most materials when exposed to molten silicates. Preliminary Design Review Video Conference

  6. Reaction Chamber Design Layout Preliminary Design Review Video Conference

  7. Outline of the Reaction Chamber Preliminary Design Review Video Conference

  8. Reaction Chamber Electrodes • The cylindrical shape (cathode surrounds anode) allows the oxygen collected at the anode to be transferred outside of the chamber. • Electrodes embedded throughout the whole volume of the fluid. Possible anodes considered: Iridium or Pt Possible cathodes considered: C or Pt with Fe-Si coating Preliminary Design Review Video Conference

  9. Reaction Chamber – Vertical Cross Section Preliminary Design Review Video Conference

  10. Reaction Chamber – Horizontal Cross Section Preliminary Design Review Video Conference

  11. Experimental Tests – Thermal Conductivity of Regolith and Molybdenum Degradation DSC Furnace Platinum Crucibles • A SDT Q600 Differential Scanning Calorimeter will be used to • Determine the thermal conductivity of lunar regolith. • Determine an accurate melting point/range for lunar regolith. • Determine the degradation of a small molybdenum sample. Preliminary Design Review Video Conference

  12. Experimental Tests – Reaction Rate and Oxygen Production Efficiency • A Thermolyne 46100 High Temperature Furnace will be used to • Determine reaction rate for Molten Silicate Electrolysis of Lunar regolith. • Determine oxygen production rate per gram of lunar soil electrolyzed. • Determine the effect of viscosity on the rate and efficiency of the reaction. Experimental Setup for Oxygen Production in Thermolyne Furnace Preliminary Design Review Video Conference

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