Mechanical and Chemical Properties of Sulfur Concrete Made from MMS-1 and MMS-2 Martian Regolith Simulants

To investigate the feasibility of sulfur concrete as potential in-situ construction material on Mars, sulfur concrete specimens were fabricated using Martian regolith simulants: MMS1 (unsorted, coarse, fine, and superfine fractions) and MMS-2 (superfine fractions). The particle-size distribution of each aggregate type was determined using sieves. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) showed that the chemical composition of MMS-1 is consistent with those reported in the literature and that the chemical composition of MMS-2 is representative of what may be observed in the actual regolith on Mars. The microstructure of the concrete specimens was examined by the micrographs of these specimens. X-ray diffraction (XRD) provided detailed insight into the mineralogy of the “Martian concrete” specimens, showing that they contain high concentrations of amorphous material and that no substantial chemical reactions took place when the material was heated (to ~160℃) when being prepared. A total of 42 specimens was prepared and tested. The compressive strengths and the moduli of elasticity were measured to be 43−76 MPa and 4−5 GPa, respectively. The aggregates that contain a wide range of particle sizes (having both fine and coarse particles) were associated with specimens with the highest compressive strengths.