Localized Microwave Thermal Posttreatment of Sintered Samples of Lunar Simulant

Microwave heating has emerged as a feasible sintering and melting method for lunar regolith simulant. Unlike conventional heating methods, microwaves operating at 2.45 GHz penetrate the material and drive a dielectric heating process within the material volume itself. This property makes microwave sintering a viable and ideal candidate for localized, potentially targetable material properties modification. In this feasibility study, the impact of microwave thermal postprocessing as a fast, localized heating source to influence porosity, microstructure, crystal formation, mechanical properties, and macrocrack formation of conventionally presintered samples is investigated.