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

这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发月球就地资源利用的核心使能技术：按粒度对“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以月球风化层为原料的就地资源利用活动的一项重要能力。通过将原月球风化物按粒度分成多个流，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，它将使月球上的任务能够“离开陆地生活”，这使得这项技术的发展对政府机构和工业界都很重要。月球就地资源利用的许多潜在应用有望使其成为一个数十亿美元的市场。该SBIR一期项目建议开发和演示一种用于月球的新型风化层尺寸分选系统，该系统的体积比传统设备（如振动筛）小10倍，质量低5倍，可靠性更高。该项目还将开发一种新的月球风化模拟物，旨在模拟真实月球风化物的粒度分布和流动特性。虽然地球上的大小分选已经被很好地理解了，但月球上的大小分选动力学还没有被很好地理解，而且大小分选被认为是月球技术路线图上的一个空白。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，通过筛网筛选颗粒。各种离心机宽高比，桨叶配置和转速将进行测试，以优化吞吐量。此外，将在不同转速下对风土颗粒对筛子的致盲（堵塞）进行表征，并在必要时通过开发和测试旋转桨（如刷子和低摩擦雨刷）的防致盲功能来解决问题。最后，该装置将在月球重力下使用新的模拟装置在抛物线飞机飞行中进行操作。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.