Electromagnetic–thermal coupled modeling for optimizing the microwave sintering of homogeneous block of KLS-1 lunar regolith simulant

Any future lunar base is likely to employ local materials in its construction, making the regolith distributed across the Moon's surface a key resource. Sintering the regolith could be a great alternative to produce construction materials, provided that the produced blocks are homogeneous. To achieve consistently suitable blocks requires close study of the electric field intensity distribution inside the sintering furnace and the resulting heating profiles inside the block. This study simulated the microwave sintering of lunar regolith to evaluate both these crucial factors. The simulation used a custom-made small sintering furnace and Korean Lunar Simulant 1. Numerical analysis coupled with an optimization algorithm was employed to identify the experimental conditions that yield homogeneous sintered block. Incorporating these design conditions into the experimental set-up improved the homogeneity of the sintered block compared with that achieved under the initial conditions.