• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.5-17
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• 2021

The Moon has been an attractive planet as an outpost for deep space exploration since He-3 and water ice which can be used as energy resources were discovered. In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) construction material fabrication method is required for sustainable space planet exploration. In this paper, the possibility of microwave sintering technology for construction material fabrication was evaluated using lunar regolith that can be easily collected from the Moon surface. Experimental assessment of the influence factors on microwave sintering was conducted using a hybrid sintering system for efficient processing. The heat distribution in the furnace was observed using thermal paper that is coated with a material formulated to change color when exposed to heat. Based on this result, sintered cylindrical KLS-1s with a diameter of 1 cm and a height of 2 cm were fabricated. Densities were measured for the sintered KLS-1s under rotating turntable conditions that have an effect of microwave dispersion. The more dielectrics were arranged, the more microwaves were dispersed reducing the heat concentration, and thus a uniformity of sintered KLS-1s was enhanced.