SBIR Phase I: Regolith size sorting technology for space resource utilization

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种用于月球原位资源利用的核心使能技术：按颗粒大小对“月球污垢”（月球风化层）进行分类的能力。粒度分选是几乎所有使用月壤作为原料的就地资源利用活动的重要能力。通过将原始的月球风化层按颗粒大小分成多个流，该技术将为月球氧气提取系统、月球三维打印机和其他应用提供合适的原料。利用月球资源是一种颠覆性的能力，将使月球任务能够“生活在陆地上”，这使得这项技术的发展对政府机构和工业界都很重要。月球原位资源利用的许多潜在应用有望使其成为一个价值数十亿美元的市场。该SBIR第一阶段项目提议开发和演示一种用于月球的新型风化层尺寸分选系统，该系统的体积小10倍，质量低5倍，可靠性高于振动筛等传统设备。该项目还将开发一种新的月壤模拟物，旨在模拟真实的月壤的粒度分布和流动特性。虽然地球上的大小排序很好理解，但月球上的大小排序动力学还没有得到很好的理解，大小排序被认为是月球技术路线图中的一个空白。该团队将通过开发一种设备来解决性能和可扩展性风险，该设备使用旋转桨来提供离心运动，以通过屏幕筛选颗粒。将对各种离心机长宽比、桨配置和转速进行测试，以优化通量。此外，将在不同转速下对风化层颗粒造成的筛子堵塞（堵塞）进行表征，必要时，通过开发和测试旋转桨上的防堵塞功能（如刷子和低摩擦擦拭器）来解决。最后，该设备将被证明在月球重力下运行的抛物线飞机飞行使用新的模拟。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a core enabling technology for lunar in situ resource utilization: the ability to sort “Moon dirt” (lunar regolith) by particle size. Size sorting is an important capability for nearly all in situ resource utilization activities that use lunar regolith as a feedstock material. By enabling raw lunar regolith to be sorted into multiple streams by particle size, the technology will provide appropriate feedstocks for lunar oxygen extraction systems, lunar 3-dimensional printers, and other applications. The use of the Moon’s resources is a disruptive capability that will enable missions there to “live off the land,” making the development of this technology important for government agencies and industry alike. The many potential applications of lunar in situ resource utilization promise to make this a multi-billion dollar market. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop and demonstrate a novel regolith size sorting system for use on the Moon that has 10x smaller volume, 5x lower mass, and greater reliability than traditional devices such as vibratory sieves (vibrating screens). The project will also develop a new lunar regolith simulant designed to mimic real lunar regolith’s particle size distribution and flow properties. While size sorting on Earth is well understood, size sorting dynamics on the Moon are not well understood and size sorting is identified as a gap in lunar technology road maps. The team will address performance and scalability risks by developing a device which uses rotating paddles to provide centrifugal motion to sieve the particles through a screen. A variety of centrifuge aspect ratios, paddle configurations, and rotational speeds will be tested to optimize throughput. Additionally, blinding (plugging) of the sieve by regolith particles will be characterized at different rotational speeds and addressed, if necessary, by developing and testing anti-blinding features on the rotating paddles, such as brushes and low-friction wipers. Finally, the device will be demonstrated to operate in lunar gravity on a parabolic aircraft flight using the new simulant.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.