A Review on Geopolymer Technology for Lunar Base Construction

Geopolymer is a synthetic amorphous aluminosilicate material that can be used as an inorganic binder to replace ordinary Portland cement. Geopolymer is produced by mixing aluminosilicate source materials with alkali activators and curing the mixture either at ambient or low temperatures. Geopolymer...

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Main Authors: Lee, S., Van Riessen, Arie
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90587
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author Lee, S.
Van Riessen, Arie
author_facet Lee, S.
Van Riessen, Arie
author_sort Lee, S.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Geopolymer is a synthetic amorphous aluminosilicate material that can be used as an inorganic binder to replace ordinary Portland cement. Geopolymer is produced by mixing aluminosilicate source materials with alkali activators and curing the mixture either at ambient or low temperatures. Geopolymer research for lunar-based construction is actively underway to enable astronauts to stay on the moon for long periods. This research has been spurred on by earnest discussions of in situ resource utilization (ISRU). Recent research shows that the lunar regolith simulant-based geopolymers have high application potential to protect astronauts from the harsh moon environment. However, not all the simulants perfectly reproduce the lunar regolith, and the characteristics of the lunar regolith vary depending on the site. Issues remain regarding the applicability of geopolymer technology to contribute to ISRU through an elaborate and systematic plan of experiments. In this paper, the potential of geopolymers is assessed as a lunar-based construction material with the latest research results. Future work to develop the lunar regolith-based geopolymer technology is also proposed.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-905872023-03-27T03:20:01Z A Review on Geopolymer Technology for Lunar Base Construction Lee, S. Van Riessen, Arie Science & Technology Physical Sciences Technology Chemistry, Physical Materials Science, Multidisciplinary Metallurgy & Metallurgical Engineering Physics, Applied Physics, Condensed Matter Chemistry Materials Science Physics geopolymer lunar base construction lunar regolith future work ISRU ALKALI-METAL HYDROXIDES REGOLITH SIMULANT THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES FLY-ASH MINERALOGY CHEMISTRY BINDERS Geopolymer is a synthetic amorphous aluminosilicate material that can be used as an inorganic binder to replace ordinary Portland cement. Geopolymer is produced by mixing aluminosilicate source materials with alkali activators and curing the mixture either at ambient or low temperatures. Geopolymer research for lunar-based construction is actively underway to enable astronauts to stay on the moon for long periods. This research has been spurred on by earnest discussions of in situ resource utilization (ISRU). Recent research shows that the lunar regolith simulant-based geopolymers have high application potential to protect astronauts from the harsh moon environment. However, not all the simulants perfectly reproduce the lunar regolith, and the characteristics of the lunar regolith vary depending on the site. Issues remain regarding the applicability of geopolymer technology to contribute to ISRU through an elaborate and systematic plan of experiments. In this paper, the potential of geopolymers is assessed as a lunar-based construction material with the latest research results. Future work to develop the lunar regolith-based geopolymer technology is also proposed. 2022 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90587 10.3390/ma15134516 English http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ MDPI fulltext
spellingShingle Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Technology
Chemistry, Physical
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Metallurgy & Metallurgical Engineering
Physics, Applied
Physics, Condensed Matter
Chemistry
Materials Science
Physics
geopolymer
lunar base construction
lunar regolith
future work
ISRU
ALKALI-METAL HYDROXIDES
REGOLITH SIMULANT
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
FLY-ASH
MINERALOGY
CHEMISTRY
BINDERS
Lee, S.
Van Riessen, Arie
A Review on Geopolymer Technology for Lunar Base Construction
title A Review on Geopolymer Technology for Lunar Base Construction
title_full A Review on Geopolymer Technology for Lunar Base Construction
title_fullStr A Review on Geopolymer Technology for Lunar Base Construction
title_full_unstemmed A Review on Geopolymer Technology for Lunar Base Construction
title_short A Review on Geopolymer Technology for Lunar Base Construction
title_sort review on geopolymer technology for lunar base construction
topic Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Technology
Chemistry, Physical
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Metallurgy & Metallurgical Engineering
Physics, Applied
Physics, Condensed Matter
Chemistry
Materials Science
Physics
geopolymer
lunar base construction
lunar regolith
future work
ISRU
ALKALI-METAL HYDROXIDES
REGOLITH SIMULANT
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
FLY-ASH
MINERALOGY
CHEMISTRY
BINDERS
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90587