Investigating the Efficiency of Pneumatic Transfer of JSC-la Lunar Regolith Simulant in Vacuum and Lunar Gravity During Parabolic Flights

摘要

Pneumatic (gas-driven) particle transfer is widely used in terrestrial applications for moving fines and coarse participates. Its major advantage is the lack of moving parts, which otherwise would clog or jam, and ease of guiding the dusty gas stream across long distances and variable trajectories. Because lunar soil is highly abrasive, this transfer system is especially desirable in applications such as feeding regolith to the Oxygen reactor in alunar In Situ Resource Utilization plant. In this paper, we report on the experiments performed in vacuum and at lunar gravity during parabolic flights, to determine whether a pneumatic lift system could be feasible for lunar applications. We found that with 18 milligrams of Nitrogen gas at 3 psia, almost 100 grams of soil was successfully lifted at high velocity. This represents a mass efficiency of 1:5500. The required gas could be supplied in the form of Helium widely used as a pressurant in a lander's propulsion system or a lander's residual propellant could be burned in a small rocket thruster to provide hot gasses. The gas could also be recycled and in turn enhance the systems' efficiency.