System for constructing building material from lunar soil and associated method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12384730-B2
Application number	US-202217582062-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 24, 2022
Priority date	Mar 31, 2021
Publication date	Aug 12, 2025
Grant date	Aug 12, 2025

Abstract

A system and associated method constructs a building material from lunar soil. A magnetic sorter magnetically sorts the lunar soil and the system creates a layered surface comprising a microwave susceptible, thermal conductive top layer of lunar soil and a poorly microwave-susceptible and poorly thermally conductive sublayer of lunar soil. A microwave generator generates microwave energy into an antenna and directs the microwave energy onto the top layer of lunar soil to sinter the microwave susceptible, thermal conductive top layer of lunar soil.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of constructing a building material from lunar soil, comprising:
magnetically sorting the lunar soil and creating a layered surface comprising a microwave susceptible, thermal conductive top layer of lunar soil, and a poorly microwave-susceptible and poorly thermally conductive sublayer of lunar soil; and
sintering the microwave susceptible, thermal conductive top layer of lunar soil by directing microwave energy onto the top layer of lunar soil.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the top layer of lunar soil comprises a plurality of layers of varying microwave susceptibility to optimize the effectiveness of the microwave sintering.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein directing the microwave energy onto the top layer of lunar soil comprises generating microwave energy, and directing the microwave energy through an antenna in a direction onto the top layer of lunar soil.

4. The method of claim 3 comprising generating different wavelengths of microwave energy in time corresponding to the changing absorbance of the top layer of the lunar soil as a function of temperature during the heating process of the top layer of lunar soil, and directing the microwave energy of different wavelengths in timed sequence onto the top layer of lunar soil.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the top layer of lunar soil is compacted to a greater extent than the sublayer of lunar soil.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the lunar soil is magnetically sorted into a non-magnetic isolate to form the sublayer of lunar soil, and into a magnetic isolate to form the top layer of lunar soil.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the lunar soil is pneumatically sorted into a coarse fraction and dust fraction, followed by magnetically sorting the coarse fraction into a magnetic isolate and non-magnetic isolate.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the dust fraction is magnetically sorted into fractions of magnetic dust isolates and mixed with the magnetic isolate before forming the top and sublayers of lunar soil.

9. A method of constructing a building material from lunar soil, comprising:
pneumatically sorting the lunar soil into a coarser fraction of lunar soil and a dust fraction of lunar soil;
magnetically sorting the coarser fraction of lunar soil into a non-magnetic isolate and a magnetic isolate and magnetically sorting the dust fraction of lunar soil into a less-magnetic dust isolate and more-magnetic dust isolate;
laying down a sublayer from the non-magnetic isolate and less-magnetic dust isolate;
laying down a top layer from the magnetic isolate and more-magnetic dust isolate to create a layered surface comprising a microwave susceptible, thermal conductive top layer of lunar soil, and a poorly microwave-susceptible and poorly thermally conductive sublayer of lunar soil; and
sintering the microwave susceptible, thermal conductive top layer of lunar soil by directing microwave energy onto the top layer of lunar soil.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the top layer of lunar soil comprises a plurality of layers of varying microwave susceptibility to optimize the effectiveness of the microwave sintering.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein directing the microwave energy onto the top layer of lunar soil comprises generating microwave energy, and directing the microwave energy through an antenna in a direction onto the top layer of lunar soil.

12. The method of claim 11 comprising generating different wavelengths of microwave energy in time corresponding to the changing absorbance of the top layer of the lunar soil as a function of temperature during the heating process of the top layer of lunar soil, and directing the microwave energy of different wavelengths in timed sequence onto the top layer of lunar soil.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the top layer of lunar soil is compacted to a greater extent than the sublayer of lunar soil.

14. A system of constructing a building material from lunar soil, comprising:
a magnetic separator that magnetically sorts the lunar soil into a non-magnetic isolate and magnetic isolate;
a compactor configured to create a layered surface comprising a microwave susceptible, thermal conductive top layer of lunar soil formed from the magnetic isolate and a poorly microwave-susceptible and poorly thermally conductive sublayer of lunar soil from the non-magnetic isolate;
a microwave generator configured to generate microwave energy; and
an antenna connected to the microwave generator and configured to direct the microwave energy against the microwave susceptible, thermal conductive top layer of lunar soil and sinter the top layer of lunar soil.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the top layer of lunar soil comprises a plurality of layers of varying microwave susceptibility to optimize the effectiveness of the microwave sintering.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein said microwave generator is configured to generate microwave energy to sinter the top layer of lunar soil.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein said microwave generator is configured to generate different wavelengths of microwave energy in timed sequence corresponding to the changing absorbance of the top layer of the lunar soil as a function of temperature during the heating process of the top layer of lunar soil.

18. The system of claim 14 wherein the compactor is configured to compact the top layer of lunar soil to a greater extent than the sublayer of lunar soil.

19. The system of claim 14 comprising a pneumatic separator configured to pneumatically sort the lunar soil before magnetic separation into a coarse fraction and dust fraction.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the magnetic sorter is configured to magnetically sort the dust fraction of the lunar soil into fractions of magnetic dust isolates and mixed with the magnetic isolate before forming the top and sublayers of lunar soil.

21. The system of claim 14 wherein the microwave generator is configured to generate microwave energy to achieve a temperature in the microwave susceptible, thermal conductive top layer of lunar soil of about 1200° K to 1600° K.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the microwave generator is configured to generate microwave energy to achieve a thermal conductivity of about 70 to 110 mW/m/K.

Assignees

• Univ Central Florida Res Found Inc

Inventors

• Metzger Philip

Classifications

• E01C9/008

  Paving take-off areas for vertically starting aircraft (landing platforms for helicopters E01F3/00) · CPC title

• E01C21/00

  Apparatus or processes for surface {soil} stabilisation for road building or like purposes, e.g. mixing local aggregate with binder ({recycling in place or on the road involving soil stabilisation E01C23/065} ; stabilising soil under existing surfacing E01C23/10; soil-conditioning or soil-stabilising materials C09K17/00; soil consolidation in general E02D3/12) · CPC title

• E01C19/22

  for consolidating or finishing laid-down unset materials ({E01C19/002, E01C19/48, E01C21/00} E01C23/02 {E01C23/065} take precedence; apparatus for generating vibrations in general B06B) · CPC title

• E01C9/001

  Paving elements formed in situ; Permanent shutterings therefor (removable shutterings E01C19/502; moulding machines therefor E01C19/508); Inlays or reinforcements which divide the cast material in a great number of individual units (reinforcement girders which do not break the cohesion of the covering material E01C11/16, E01C11/185) · CPC title

• B03C2201/20

  Magnetic separation of bulk or dry particles in mixtures · CPC title