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. 2021 Oct 28;14(21):6472.
doi: 10.3390/ma14216472.

Microwave Simulation Experiments on Regolith (Lunar Dust) Deposition on Stainless Steel

Nina N Skvortsova  1   2 , Vladimir D Stepakhin  1 , Andrey A Sorokin  3 , Dmitry V Malakhov  1 , Namik G Gusein-Zade  1 , Nailya S Akhmadullina  4 , Valentin D Borzosekov  1   5 , Elena V Voronova  1 , Oleg N Shishilov  6
Affiliations

Microwave Simulation Experiments on Regolith (Lunar Dust) Deposition on Stainless Steel

Nina N Skvortsova et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

In this article, results are presented of experiments on depositing charged particles, which imitate the levitating dust on the Moon, on stainless steel. Ensembles of particles are created above the surface of laboratory regolith whose composition and particle size distribution imitate the dust that covers the Moon's surface. Under the action of the gyrotron radiation on regolith, non-linear physical-chemical processes develop (breakdown, chain plasmachemical reactions, and particle scattering by the Coulomb mechanism), which lead to the appearance of a levitating cloud of particles. The simulation experiment is based on the similarity between the processes that develop in the laboratory experiments with regolith and the processes that occur on the Moon during its bombardment by micrometeorites. The effect of the levitating cloud on stainless steel plates is studied and it is shown that regolith particles in the shape of spheroids of different sizes are deposited on the surface of the plates. The dimensions of the deposited particles and the density of their placement depend on the quality of treatment of the plate surface. It is shown that the laboratory-produced dusty plasma can be used in simulation experiments to study the modification of surfaces of different materials for space technology.

Keywords: gyrotron discharge; modification of stainless steel samples; regolith; simulation experiments.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Photographs of the plasmachemical reactor with inserted quartz cylinder and grips for stainless steel plates: (a) view from the side nozzle, (b) top view, and (c) placement of stainless steel plates in the grips. Photograph (c) was taken 8 ms after the switch-off of the gyrotron pulse against the background of the processes in the reactor.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Levitating particles at a distance about 30 cm above regolith surface after initiation of plasmachemical reactions (time t = 0 corresponds to the switch-off of the gyrotron).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Change of the surface of stainless steel after three cycles of chain processes in simulation experiments. Photographs of the deposited secondary materials (left) and their element composition (right). The secondary materials are deposited as spheroids of different sizes. (a) Sample of untreated surface of stainless steel with regolith deposits and (b) sample of DBR-treated surface of stainless steel with regolith deposits. The element composition of the untreated surface reflects mainly the deposited particles, while the composition of the DBR-treated surface includes the components of stainless steel (CrKα, FeKα lines).
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Photograph of the plate without initial treatment with deposited particles with resolution of 20 µm. The inset shows a fragment with separate particles at resolution of 5 µm; (b) distribution of particles shown in plate (a) over linear sizes; (c) photograph of the plate that was initially treated by the DBR with deposited particles with resolution of 20 µm. The inset shows a fragment with a single particle at resolution of 5 µm; and (d) distribution of particles shown in plate (c) over linear sizes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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