Ksenija Milicevic Neumann

To enable a long-term presence of humans in space, it is essential to use extraterrestrial raw materials to reduce the need for transporting resources or produced materials from Earth. In recent years, a lot of research has been conducted on different ISRU processes, such as regolith excavation, mineral processing and the extraction of oxygen using metallurgical processes. However, it is not sufficient to just focus on a single process but also to focus on how the different processes interact… Mehr anzeigen

To enable a long-term presence of humans in space, it is essential to use extraterrestrial raw materials to reduce the need for transporting resources or produced materials from Earth. In recent years, a lot of research has been conducted on different ISRU processes, such as regolith excavation, mineral processing and the extraction of oxygen using metallurgical processes. However, it is not sufficient to just focus on a single process but also to focus on how the different processes interact. Therefore, RWTH Aachen’s Integrated Conceptual Design presents a novel concept for the production of oxygen and high-quality metal materials. To meet the challenges of mining in space, selective mining is used to provide the best possible blend based on the original material of the deposit. This process is followed by mineral processing to provide a high-quality ilmenite-rich concentrate, the input material for metallurgical processes. Using the novel MOSARI technique, consisting of molten salt electrolysis and metallothermic reduction, oxygen and metal materials can be recovered. Furthermore, this represents a zero-waste approach for the complete utilization of the material. Weniger anzeigen

Utilization of titanium matrix composites is limited due to their high production costs even though they exhibit exceptional mechanical properties and light weight suitable for aerospace applications. Matrix-coated-fibre (MCF) is currently the best production method in terms of product quality and volume. It employs magnetron sputtering as coating process of single fibres that accounts for two-thirds of the total costs. A possible innovative route for this step is using electrolytical… Mehr anzeigen

Utilization of titanium matrix composites is limited due to their high production costs even though they exhibit exceptional mechanical properties and light weight suitable for aerospace applications. Matrix-coated-fibre (MCF) is currently the best production method in terms of product quality and volume. It employs magnetron sputtering as coating process of single fibres that accounts for two-thirds of the total costs. A possible innovative route for this step is using electrolytical deposition of Ti-6Al-4V alloy on SiC fibres that would reduce the production costs significantly.
This thesis illustrates the investigation of the electrochemical behaviour of Ti-, Al- and V anodes and the possibility of their ions with low valence to be brought into an eutectic mixture of LiCl –KCl by anodic polarization. Furthermore soluble metallic anodes were used for their beneficial environmental impact compared to inert anode, preventing chlorine evolution.
Generally speaking, the dissolution is possible, but these processes were followed by concurrent and parasitic reactions, formations of passivating layers and complexes, evaporation, grain detachment and strong corrosion all leading to reduced current efficiencies and or control difficulties. Those findings confirm complexity of multicomponent systems, especially those dealing with elements having multiple valences. Even with those challenges an electrolytic fibre coating process has the potential to be more profitable than state-of-the-art process (MCF method). These economical benefits can be further increased, since it has been shown that the dissolution can be improved by changing the anode morphology. Weniger anzeigen