To support the development of high-performance structural members for future lunar construction, test and numerical investigations were conducted to examine the web crippling performance of 6063-T5 aluminium alloy (AA) square and rectangular hollow sections infilled with lunar regolith simulant geopolymer (LRSG). Mechanical properties of the AA and LRSG were obtained through testing. A total of 11 specimens, including 2 hollow AA tubular sections and 9 composite tubular sections with varying geometrical dimensions, geopolymer strengths, and bearing lengths were tested under interior two-flange loading conditions. The ultimate resistances, load-displacement curves, and failure modes of the composite specimens were studied. The results showed that LRSG infilling significantly enhanced the web crippling resistance compared with hollow AA tubular sections. After validation, a parametric study including 216 numerical models was conducted, thereby providing a comprehensive basis for clarifying the influence of geometric dimensions, geopolymer strengths, and bearing length on the web crippling capacity. Based on the experimental and numerical results, the applicability of current design approaches for the web crippling capacity of AA hollow sections and composite tubular sections was assessed. Existing design methods provide unsuitable predictions for AA hollow and LRSG-filled composite tubular sections under ITF loading conditions. A design method was formulated based on the experimental and numerical results and achieved an average prediction ratio of approximately 1.02 with a reliability index exceeding 2.5. The proposed method provides a theoretical basis for the safe and efficient design of lunar structural members, utilizing in-situ materials.
Ding et al. (Thu,) studied this question.