A High-Fidelity Agglutinate-Containing Chang’E-5 Lunar Regolith Simulant

doi:10.16552/j.cnki.issn1001-1625.2026.0139

Abstract

Abstract:

Lunar regolith is the primary object for in-situ resource utilization （ISRU）， and agglutinates， as a critical component， possess a complex microstructure that directly dictates the reliability of ISRU technologies. However， the sub-micron/nanoscale metallic iron （Fe⁰） and porous vesicular structures within agglutinates are extremely difficult to replicate under laboratory conditions， resulting in a general lack of scientific fidelity in existing lunar regolith simulants. Targeting the Chang’e-5 （CE-5） lunar regolith， this study successfully developed a high-fidelity simulant， WUT-1， through precise mineral matching and a controllable in-situ thermal reduction process， specifically overcoming the challenge of in-situ Fe⁰ precipitation within the glass matrix. Analytical results demonstrate that WUT-1 is highly consistent with the authentic lunar regolith in terms of chemical composition， phase mineralogy， and macro-physical properties， while accurately reproducing the heterogeneous microstructure. This research significantly enhances the scientific fidelity of the simulant in microstructure and fundamental physicochemical properties， providing high-reliability testing materials for the ground validation of key technologies such as lunar landing， in-situ construction， and resource extraction.

Key words: CE-5 lunar regolith simulant, synthetic agglutinate, vesicular, sub-micron Fe⁰, ISRU

CLC Number:

TU43

ZHANG Qingqing, ZHU Quanyao, XIAO Lei, MENG Zijin, SUN Huajun. A High-Fidelity Agglutinate-Containing Chang’E-5 Lunar Regolith Simulant[J]. BULLETIN OF THE CHINESE CERAMIC SOCIETY, 2026, 45(8): 2749-2759.

Figures/Tables 20

Fig.1 XRD patterns of basalt

Fig.2 Major mineral abundance of basalt and CE-5 lunar legolith［15］

Table 1 Chemical composition of raw materials and lunar legolith

Sample	Mass fraction/%
Sample	SiO₂	TiO₂	Al₂O₃	TFeO	MnO	MgO	CaO	Na₂O	K₂O	P₂O₅
CE-5^［6］	42.20	5.00	10.80	22.50	0.28	6.48	11.00	0.26	0.19	0.23
Basalt	46.07	2.14	17.92	9.02	0.13	5.29	8.72	6.62	2.60	1.11
Fe₂O₃	0	0.03	0	99.95	0	0.01	0.01	0	0	0
Hedenbergite	47.29	0.04	0.68	25.67	1.87	1.79	22.40	0.06	0	0
Ilmenite	3.14	41.52	1.87	49.10	0.78	1.25	0.63	0	0	0
Forsterite	44.14	0	3.36	7.68	0.12	40.87	2.88	0.13	0	0

Table 2 Mix proportion of raw materials for lunar legolith simulants

Mineral	Basalt	Hedenbergite	Forsterite	Ilmenite	Fe₂O₃
Mass fraction/%	50.18	29.98	7.06	10.78	2.00

Fig.3 Preparation procedure of WUT-1 lunar regolith simulant and agglutinates

Fig.4 Major composition， XRD patterns， and major mineral composition of WUT-1 lunar regolith simulant and CE-5 lunar regolith

Fig.5 SEM images of different zones of WUT-1 lunar regolith simulant

Fig.6 Microscopic image of agglutinates［11］

Fig.7 Particle size distribution curves

Table 3 Volume-based particle size parameters and computational statistical parameters

Material	$D 10$ /μm	$D 30$ /μm	$D 50$ /μm	$D 60$ /μm	$C u$	$C c$	$Φ M d$ /φ	$Φ M n$ /φ	$σ S$	$S k$	$K r$
WUT-1	4.55	22.58	52.81	69.70	15.32	1.61	4.25	4.71	1.90	0.29	1.06
CE-5^［15］	4.90	24.12	54.23	70.31	14.35	1.69	4.21	4.66	1.97	0.37	1.11

Table 3 Volume-based particle size parameters and computational statistical parameters

Material	$D 10$ /μm	$D 30$ /μm	$D 50$ /μm	$D 60$ /μm	$C u$	$C c$	$Φ M d$ /φ	$Φ M n$ /φ	$σ S$	$S k$	$K r$
WUT-1	4.55	22.58	52.81	69.70	15.32	1.61	4.25	4.71	1.90	0.29	1.06
CE-5^［15］	4.90	24.12	54.23	70.31	14.35	1.69	4.21	4.66	1.97	0.37	1.11

Fig.8 2D slice images of agglutinate particles

Fig.9 SEM images of agglutinates from Apollo lunar regolith［9］ and WUT-1 lunar regolith simulant

Fig.10 3D reconstruction rendering images of agglutinate at ambient cooling

Fig.11 3D reconstruction rendering images of agglutinate at quenching

Fig.12 Vesicles distribution of agglutinate at ambient cooling

Fig.13 Vesicles distribution of agglutinate at quenching

Fig.14 SEM images of agglutinate particles at ambient cooling

Fig.15 Particle size distribution chart of Fe0 particles in agglutinates at ambient cooling

Fig.16 SEM image and particle size distribution chart of Fe0 particles in agglutinates at quenching

Table 4 Summary of parameters for WUT-1， six other lunar regolith simulants， and actual lunar regolith

Material	G_s/（g·cm^-3）	ρ_max/（g·cm^-3）	ρ_min/（g·cm^-3）	e_min	e_max	n_min	n_max
CAS-1^［24］	—	—	—	0.80	1.10	—	—
JSC-1^［25］	2.90	1.33	1.80	0.61	1.17	0.38	0.54
WUT-1	3.22	1.65	2.00	0.61	0.96	0.38	0.49
IGG-01^［8］	3.33	1.69	2.03	0.64	0.97	0.39	0.49
PolyU-1^［7］	3.17	1.22	1.83	0.72	1.63	0.42	0.62
JSC-1A^［25］	2.88	1.57	2.03	0.41	0.83	0.29	0.45
UoM-B^［26］	3.52	1.37	1.97	0.78	1.56	0.44	0.61
CE-5^［6］	3.20	—	—	—	—	—	—
Apollo lunar mare regolith^［17］	2.30~3.24	0.87~1.26	1.92	0.67	2.37	0.42	0.97

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