Compressive deformation of porous lunar regolith

Compressive properties of porous lunar regolith were tested. It was hypothesized that final porosity could be controlled by changing the initial powder particle size during pressing and sintering. A sintering temperature of 1200 degrees C for 20 min was found to be optimum for densification. Controlling the size of the powder particle changed the porosity of the sintered body, and samples were made with density ranging from 99.0 +/- 0.5% to 92 +/- 2% of theoretical density. Compression tests showed 99.0 + 0.5% and 92 +/- 2% dense samples had an average failure stress of 232 MPa and 103.2 MPa, respectively. The average hardness of the sintered lunar regolith was found to be 1027 HV0.1. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.