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Microgravity Combustion Science and Fluid Physics Experiments and Facilities for the ISS

At the NASA Glenn Research Center, the Microgravity Science Program supports both ground-based and flight experiment research in the disciplines of Combustion Science and Fluid Physics. Combustion Science research includes the areas of gas jet diffusion flames, laminar flames, burning of droplets and misting fuels, solids and materials flammability, fire and fire suppressants, turbulent combustion, reaction kinetics, materials synthesis, and other combustion systems. The Fluid Physics discipline includes the areas of complex fluids (colloids, gels, foams, magneto-rheological fluids, non-Newtonian fluids, suspensions, granular materials), dynamics and instabilities (bubble and drop dynamics, magneto/electrohydrodynamics, electrochemical transport, geophysical flows), interfacial phenomena (wetting, capillarity, contact line hydrodynamics), and multiphase flows and phase changes (boiling and condensation, heat transfer, flow instabilities). A specialized International Space Station (ISS) facility that provides sophisticated research capabilities for these disciplines is the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF). The FCF consists of the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR), the Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR) and the Shared Accommodations Rack and is designed to accomplish a large number of science investigations over the life of the ISS. The modular, multiuser facility is designed to optimize the science return within the available resources of on-orbit power, uplink/downlink capacity, crew time, upmass/downmass, volume, etc. A suite of diagnostics capabilities, with emphasis on optical techniques, will be provided to complement the capabilities of the subsystem multiuser or principal investigator-specific experiment modules. The paper will discuss the systems concept, technical capabilities, functionality, and the initial science investigations in each discipline.

Lauver, Richard W.↗

Monte Carlo Simulation of Nanoparticle Encapsulation in Flames

Gas-phase combustion (flame) synthesis has been an essential industrial process for producing large quantities of powder materials such as carbon black, titanium dioxide, and silicon dioxide. Flames typically produce simple oxides, with carbon black being the noted exception because the oxides of carbon are gaseous and are easily separated from the particulate matter that is formed during fuel pyrolysis. Furthermore, the powders produced in flames are usually agglomerated, nanometer-sized particles (nanoparticles). This composition and morphology is acceptable for many applications. However, the present interest in nanoparticles for advanced materials application has led to efforts to employ flames for the synthesis of unagglomerated nanoparticles (2 to 100 nm) of metals and non-oxide ceramics. Sodium-halide chemistry has proven to be viable for producing metals and non-oxide ceramics in flames. Materials that have been produced to date include Si (Calcote and Felder, 1993), TiN, TiB2, TiC, TiSi2, SiC, B4C (Glassman et al, 1993) Al, W, Ti, TiB2, AlN, and W-Ti and Al-AlN composites (DuFaux and Axelbaum, 1995, Axelbaum et al 1996,1997). Many more materials are possible. The main challenge that faces application of flame synthesis for advanced materials is overcoming formation of agglomerates in flames (Brezinsky, 1997). The high temperatures and high number densities in the flame environment favor the formation of agglomerates. Agglomerates must be avoided for many reasons. For example, when nanopowders are consolidated, agglomerates have a deleterious effect on compaction density, leading to voids in the final part. Efforts to avoid agglomeration in flames without substantially reducing particle number density and, consequently, production rate, have had limited success. Another critical challenge that faces all synthesis routes for nanopowders is ensuring that the powders are high purity and that the process is scaleable. Though the containerless, high temperature environment of a flame is excellent for producing high-purity simple compounds, ultrafine metals and non-oxide ceramic powders are inherently reactive in the presence of oxygen and/or moisture. Thus, the handling of these powders after synthesis poses a challenging problem. Impurities acquired during handling of nanoparticles have plagued the advancement of nanostructured materials technology.

Sun, Z.↗

NASA Microgravity Combustion Science Program

Combustion is a key element of many critical technologies used by contemporary society. For example, electric power production, home heating, surface and air transportation, space propulsion, and materials synthesis all utilize combustion as a source of energy. Yet, although combustion technology is vital to our standard of living, it poses great challenges to maintaining a habitable environment. For example, pollutants, atmospheric change and global warming, unwanted fires and explosions, and the incineration of hazardous wastes are major problem areas which would benefit from improved understanding of combustion. Effects of gravitational forces impede combustion studies more than most other areas of science since combustion involves production of high-temperature gases whose low density results in buoyant motion, vastly complicating the execution and interpretation of experiments. Effects of buoyancy are so ubiquitous that their enormous negative impact on the rational development of combustion science is generally not recognized. Buoyant motion also triggers the onset of turbulence, yielding complicating unsteady effects. Finally, gravity forces cause particles and drops to settle, inhibiting deconvoluted studies of heterogeneous flames important to furnace, incineration and power generation technologies. Thus, effects of buoyancy have seriously limited our capabilities to carry out 'clean' experiments needed for fundamental understanding of flame phenomena. Combustion scientists can use microgravity to simplify the study of many combustion processes, allowing fresh insights into important problems via a deeper understanding of elemental phenomena also found in Earth-based combustion processes and to additionally provide valuable information concerning how fires behave in microgravity and how fire safety on spacecraft can be enhanced.

King, Merrill K.↗

Filtration combustion: Smoldering and SHS

Smolder waves and SHS (self-propagating high-temperature synthesis) waves are both examples of combustion waves propagating in porous media. When delivery of reactants through the pores to the reaction site is an important aspect of the process, it is referred to as filtration combustion. The two types of filtration combustion have a similar mathematical formulation, describing the ignition, propagation and extinction of combustion waves in porous media. The goal in each case, however, is different. In smoldering the desired goal is to prevent propagation, whereas in SHS the goal is to insure propagation of the combustion wave, leading to the synthesis of desired products. In addition, the scales in the two areas of application may well differ. For example, smoldering generally occurs at a relatively low temperature and with a smaller propagation velocity than SHS filtration combustion waves. Nevertheless, the two areas of application have much in common, so that mechanisms learned about in one application can be used to advantage in the other. In this paper we discuss recent results in the areas of filtration combustion.

Matkowsky, Bernard J.↗

Filtration Combustion in Smoldering and SHS

Smolder waves and SHS (self-propagating high-temperature synthesis) waves are both examples of filtration combustion waves propagating in porous media. Smoldering combustion is important for the study of fire safety. Smoldering itself can cause damage, its products are toxic and it can also lead to the more dangerous gas phase combustion which corresponds to faster propagation at higher temperatures. In SHS, a porous solid sample, consisting of a finely ground powder mixture of reactants, is ignited at one end. A high temperature thermal wave, having a frontal structure, then propagates through the sample converting reactants to products. The SHS technology appears to enjoy a number of advantages over the conventional technology, in which the sample is placed in a furnace and "baked" until it is "well done". The advantages include shorter synthesis times, greater economy, in that the internal energy of the reactions is employed rather than the costly external energy of the furnace, purer products, simpler equipment and no intrinsic limitation on the size of the sample to be synthesized, as exists in the conventional technology. When delivery of reactants through the pores to the reaction site is an important aspect of the combustion process, it is referred to as filtration combustion. The two types of filtration combustion have a similar mathematical formulation, describing the ignition, propagation and extinction of combustion waves in porous media. The goal in each case, however, is different. In smoldering the desired goal is to prevent propagation, whereas in SHS the goal is to insure propagation of the combustion wave, leading to the synthesis of desired products. In addition, the scales in the two areas of application differ. Smoldering generally occurs at lower temperatures and propagation velocities than in SHS. Nevertheless, the two applications have much in common, so that what is learned in one application can be used to advantage in the other. We have considered a number of problems involving filtration combustion. Here we describe two such studies: (A) fingering instabilities in filtration combustion, (B) rapid filtration combustion waves driven by convection.

Matkowsky, Bernard↗

Filtration Combustion in Smoldering and SHS

Smolder waves and SHS (self-propagating high-temperature synthesis) waves are both examples of filtration combustion waves propagating in porous media. Smoldering combustion is important for the study of fire safety. Smoldering itself can cause damage, its products are toxic and it can also lead to the more dangerous gas phase combustion which corresponds to faster propagation at higher temperatures. In SHS , a porous solid sample, consisting of a finely ground powder mixture of reactants, is ignited at one end. A high temperature thermal wave, having a frontal structure, then propagates through the sample converting reactants to products. The SHS technology appears to enjoy a number of advantages over the conventional technology, in which the sample is placed in a furnace and "baked" until it is "well done". The advantages include shorter synthesis times, greater economy, in that the internal energy of the reactions is employed rather than the costly external energy of the furnace, purer products, simpler equipment and no intrinsic limitation on the size of the sample to be synthesized as exists in the conventional technology. When delivery of reactants through the pores to the reaction site is an important aspect of the combustion process, it is referred to as filtration combustion. The two types of filtration combustion have a similar mathematical formulation, describing the ignition, propagation and extinction of combustion waves in porous media. The goal in each case, however, is different. In smoldering the desired goal is to prevent propagation, whereas in SHS the goal is to ensure propagation of the combustion wave, leading to the synthesis of desired products. In addition, the scales in the two areas of application differ. Smoldering generally occurs at lower temperatures and propagation velocities than in SHS nevertheless, the two applications have much in common so that what is learned fit make application can be used to advantage in the other. In porous media, melting often occurs ahead of the propagating combustion wave. In certain cases there is so much melting that the porous solid structure is destroyed, e.g., by melting and a suspension arises, consisting of a liquid bath containing solid particles and/or gas bubbles. The resulting combustion wave is referred to as a liquid flame. We have considered a number of problems involving filtration combustion. Here, we describe four such studies: (A) rapid buoyant filtration combustion waves; (B) diffusion driven combustion waves; (C) rapidly propagating liquid flames in gravitational fields; and (D) gas-phase influence on liquid flames in gravitational fields.

Matkowsky, Bernard J.↗

Symposium (International) on Combustion, 23rd, Universite d'Orleans, France, July 22-27, 1990, Proceedings

The present symposium on combustion discusses reaction kinetics, NO(x) kinetics, premixed, diffusion, and nonsteady flames, turbulent combustion, hazardous waste, fluidized bed combustion, coal boilers and furnaces, engines, heterogeneous kinetics, heterogeneous, droplet, and microgravity combustion, and high-temperature synthesis. Attention is given to reactions of biphenyl, methylnaphthalenes, and phenanthrene with atomic oxygen in the gas phase, the oxidation of ortho-xylene, the effects of water on combustion kinetics at high pressure, and the formation and measurement of N2O in combustion systems. Topics addressed include large ions in premixed benzene-oxygen flames, the structure and kinetics of CH4/N2O flames, the propagation of unsteady hydrogen premixed flames near flammability limits, and the basic structure of lean propane flames. Also considered are OH measurements of piloted diffusion flames of nitrogen-diluted methane near extinction, waste combustion, preferential oxidation of carbon surfaces, and reburning mechanisms in a pulverized coal combustor.

Source record↗

Space-Dynamically Responding Ultrasonic Matrix System

Space-Dynamically Responding Ultrasonic Matrix System (SpaceDRUMS) comprises a suite of hardware that enables containerless processing (samples of experimental materials can be processed without ever touching a container wall). Using a collection of 20 acoustic beam emitters, SpaceDRUMS can completely suspend a baseball-sized solid or liquid sample during combustion or heat-based synthesis. Because the samples never contact the container walls, materials can be produced in microgravity with an unparalleled quality of shape and composition. The ultimate goal of the SpaceDRUMS hardware is to assist with the development of advanced materials of a commercial quantity and quality, using the space-based experiments to guide development of manufacturing processes on Earth. T

Guigne, Jacques↗

Flame Synthesis of Single- and Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Nanofibers

Metal-catalyzed carbon nanotubes are highly sought for a diverse range of applications that include nanoelectronics, battery electrode material, catalysis, hydrogen storage media and reinforcing agents in polymer composites. These latter applications will require vast quantities of nanotubes at competitive prices to be economically feasible. Moreover, reinforcing applications may not require ultrahigh purity nanotubes. Indeed, functionalization of nanotubes to facilitate interfacial bonding within composites will naturally introduce defects into the tube walls, lessening their tensile strength. Current methods of aerosol synthesis of carbon nanotubes include laser ablation of composite targets of carbon and catalyst metal within high temperature furnaces and decomposition of a organometallics in hydrocarbons mixtures within a tube furnace. Common to each approach is the generation of particles in the presence of the reactive hydrocarbon species at elevated temperatures. In the laser-ablation approach, the situation is even more dynamic in that particles and nanotubes are borne during the transient cooling phase of the laser-induced plasma for which the temperature far exceeds that of the surrounding hot gases within the furnace process tube. A shared limitation is that more efficient methods of nanoparticle synthesis are not readily incorporated into these approaches. In contrast, combustion can quite naturally create nanomaterials such as carbon black. Flame synthesis is well known for its commercial scalability and energy efficiency. However, flames do present a complex chemical environment with steep gradients in temperature and species concentrations. Moreover, reaction times are limited within buoyant driven flows to tens of milliseconds. Therein microgravity can greatly lessen temperature and spatial gradients while allowing independent control of flame residence times. In preparation for defining the microgravity experiments, the work presented here focuses on the effect of catalyst particle size and reactant gas in 1g.

VanderWal, R. L.↗

Potential Commercial Applications from Combustion and Fire Research in Space

The near-zero (microgravity) environment of orbiting spacecraft minimizes buoyant flows, greatly simplifying combustion processes and isolating important phenomena ordinarily concealed by the overwhelming gravity-driven forces and flows. Fundamental combustion understanding - the focus to date of the NASA microgravity-combustion program - has greatly benefited from analyses and experiments conducted in the microgravity environment. Because of the economic and commercial importance of combustion in practice, there is strong motivation to seek wider applications for the microgravity-combustion findings. This paper reviews selected technology developments to illustrate some emerging applications. Topics cover improved fire-safety technology in spacecraft and terrestrial systems, innovative combustor designs for aerospace and ground propulsion, applied sensors and controls for combustion processes, and self-sustaining synthesis techniques for advanced materials.

Friedman, Robert↗

Overview of Microgravity Combustion Research at NASA Lewis Research Center and its Potential Commercial Impact

The near-zero (microgravity) environment of orbiting spacecraft minimizes buoyant flows, greatly simplifying combustion processes and isolating important phenomena ordinarily concealed by the overwhelming gravity-driven forces and flows. Fundamental combustion understanding has greatly benefited from analyses and experiments conducted in the microgravity environment. Because of the economic and commercial importance of combustion in practice, there is strong motivation to seek wider applications for the microgravity-combustion findings. This paper reviews selected technology developments to illustrate some emerging applications. Topics cover improved fire-safety technology in spacecraft and terrestrial systems, innovative combustor designs for aerospace and ground propulsion, applied sensors and controls for combustion processes, and self-sustaining synthesis techniques for advanced materials.

Lyons, Valerie↗

Gravitational Effects in Smoldering and SHS

Smolder waves and SHS (self-propagating high-temperature synthesis) waves are both examples of filtration combustion waves propagating in porous media. Smoldering combustion is important for the study of fire safety. Smoldering itself can cause damage, its products are toxic and it can also lead to the more dangerous gas phase combustion which corresponds to faster propagation at higher temperatures. In SHS, a porous solid sample, consisting of a finely ground powder mixture of reactants, is ignited at one end. A high temperature thermal wave, having a frontal structure, then propagates through the sample converting reactants to products. The SHS technology appears to enjoy a number of advantages over the conventional technology, in which the sample is placed in a furnace and 'baked' until it is 'well done'. The advantages include shorter synthesis times, greater economy, in that the internal energy of the reactions is employed rather than the costly external energy of the furnace, purer products, simpler equipment and no intrinsic limitation on the size of the sample to be synthesized, as exists in the conventional technology.

Bernard J Matkowsky↗

Fullerenes, PAH, Carbon Nanostructures, and Soot in Low Pressure Diffusion Flames

The formation of fullerenes C60 and C7O is known to occur in premixed laminar benzene/oxygen/argon flames operated at reduced pressures. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images of material collected from these flames has identified a variety of multishelled nanotubes and fullerene 'onions' as well as some trigonous structures. These fullerenes and nanostructures resemble the material that results from commercial fullerene production systems using graphite vaporization. As a result, combustion is an interesting method for fullerenes synthesis. If commercial scale operation is to be considered, the use of diffusion flames might be safer and less cumbersome than premixed flames. However, it is not known whether diffusion flames produce the types and yields of fullerenes obtained from premixed benzene/oxygen flames. Therefore, the formation of fullerenes and carbon nanostructures, as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and soot, in acetylene and benzene diffusion flames is being studied using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM).

Grieco, William J.↗

Dynamics in Layer Models of Solid Flame Propagation

Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) is a process in which combustion waves, e.g., "solid flames", which are considered here, are employed to synthesize desired materials. Like many other systems, SHS is a pattern forming system. The problem of describing experimentally observed patterns and of predicting new, as yet unobserved, patterns continues to attract the attention of scientists and mathematicians due to the fundamental significance of the phenomena in combustion in particular, and in nonlinear science in general. Here, we analyze the dynamics of solid flame propagation in a 2D region by considering the region to be composed of parallel, identical layers aligned along the direction of propagation and having thermal contact. Each layer is then described by wave propagation in 1D, with the transverse Laplacian replaced by a term describing heat exchange between neighboring layers. This configuration is the simplest model of a 2D system because it accounts, in a simple way, for the principal feature of the problem, i.e., heat exchange between neighbors in the transverse direction. For simplicity, we describe the situation for two layers. Because the layers are identical, uniformly propagating waves in each layer must be identical, independent of the heat exchange rate alpha. When the Zeldovich number Z exceeds a critical value Z(sub c), which depends on alpha, uniformly propagating waves become unstable. The stability diagram for the two coupled layers reproduces that for the full 2D problem after appropriate identification of parameters in the two problems. Depending on parameter values, we determine three different steady-state dynamical behaviors (though additional behaviors are also expected to occur). The three behaviors are: (i) waves in each layer which pulsate in phase as they propagate, so that together they form a single pulsating propagating wave; (ii) the waves in each layer are no longer identical, and antiphase pulsations occur, with the two waves alternately advancing and receding as they propagate. This wave is the analog of the spinning wave on the surface of a circular cylinder; (iii) finally, there is a region of bistability between the in phase and antiphase waves. with each having its own domain of attraction, so that which of the two behaviors occur depends on the condition of initiation of the wave. The results of our computations indicate a qualitative similarity in the behavior of combustion waves in the layer model and in the full 2D model. Specifically, due to the similarity between the small alpha wave behavior in the layer model and the large diameter behavior in the model of waves on the surface of a cylinder, we are able to predict the behavior of the mean velocity for the waves on the cylinder, where computations of the full problem can be rather difficult. We also compute solutions for three or more layers. The results of our computations prompt us to predict that, while planar uniformly propagating waves are unstable, the wave will be quasiplanar, i.e., the resulting spinning waves have very low amplitude hot spots, and travel with the velocity close to that of the uniformly propagating wave. Such waves may be difficult to distinguish from uniformly propagating waves in experiments. We also find that for both the layer model and full 2D problem, steady-state time-dependent waves, e.g., pulsating and spinning wave, have a conserved quantity H which characterizes the excess energy in the wave, just as in the case of uniformly propagating waves. The quantity H, which is generated by dissipation, does not vary in time and is proportional to the diffusivity and caloricity of the system, and inversely proportional to the mean wave velocity.

Aldushin, A. P.↗

Combustion noise and combustion instabilities in propulsion systems

This paper is concerned with some aspects of non-linear behavior of unsteady motions in combustion chambers. The emphasis is on conditions under which organized oscillations having discrete frequencies may exist in the presence of random motions. In order to treat the two types of motions together, and particularly to investigate coupling between noise and combustion instabilities, the unsteady field is represented as a synthesis of acoustic modes having time-varying amplitudes. Each of the amplitudes are written as the sum of two parts, one associated with the random field and the remainder representing the organized oscillations. After spatial averaging, the general problem is reduced to solution of a set of second-order ordinary differential equations whose structure depends on the sorts of nonlinear processes accounted for. This formulation accommodates any physical process; in particular, terms are included to represent noise sources, although only limited modeling is discussed. Our results suggest that random sources of noise have only small effects on combustion instabilities and seem not to be a cause of unstable motions. However, the coupling between the two sorts of unsteady motions may be important as an essential process in a proposed scheme for noise control. It is now a familiar observation that many nonlinear deterministic systems are capable of exhibiting apparently random motions called 'chaos.' This is a particularly interesting possibility for systems which also executed non-deterministic random motions. In combustion chambers, a nonlinear deterministic system (acoustical motions) exists in the presence of noise produced by flow separation, turbulent motions, and energy released by combustion processes. The last part of the paper is directed to the matter of discovering whether or not chaotic motions exist in combustion systems. Analysis has not progressed sufficiently far to answer the question. We report here recent results of processing data taken in one combustor to determine the dimensions of any attractors in the motions. No evidence has been found for chaos in the strict sense, but the method seems to be an important means of investigating the nonlinear behavior of combustion systems.

F. E. C. Culick↗

Synthesis of Graphite Encapsulated Metal Nanoparticles and Metal Catalyzed Nanotubes

This work focuses on the growth and inception of graphite encapsulated metal nanoparticles and metal catalyzed nanotubes using combustion chemistry. Deciphering the inception and growth mechanism(s) for these unique nanostructures is essential for purposeful synthesis. Detailed knowledge of these mechanism(s) may yield insights into alternative synthesis pathways or provide data on unfavorable conditions. Production of these materials is highly desirable given many promising technological applications.

vanderWal, R. L.↗

A Warm Garage for a Lunar Rover

Approach: One approach to heating a rover during the lunar night is the so-called thermal wadis concept [1]. This involves heating the regolith with solar concentrators and placing the rover on the heated surface for the night. Since the regolith is heated by a relatively weak heat flux, a high thermal conductivity is required for heating a sufficiently large mass of regolith. However, lunar regolith has a low thermal conductivity. Therefore, the concept involves increasing the conductivity by sintering the regolith, which requires a significant energy input and complex procedures. Here we propose an alternative approach where the low thermal conductivity of regolith is an advantage. Specifically, we propose to use a highly exothermic combustible mixture for heat generation. The mixture pellets are placed in the surface layer of regolith and ignited. The combustion forms condensed products and releases heat, which then slowly spreads to the surrounding regolith. Heat can also be transferred, for example, by heat pipes, into radiant heating surfaces installed on the ground. A greenhouse that transmits sunlight during the day and decreases the radiative heat losses during the night can also be installed. Selection of the Heat-generating Mixture: The reactive mixture should have a high specific energy and generate only condensed products since gases could disturb the regolith layer, carry enthalpy out of the system, and lead to an explosion. There are mixtures, (sometimes called pyrolants) that possess very high specific energies. One example is magnesium-Teflon-Viton mixtures used in flares. However, they produce gases and may cause explosions. Other mixtures that include magnesium cannot be used either because of the high vapor pressure of Mg at temperatures well below the combustion temperature. Recently, mixtures that involve lithium peroxide (Li2O2) have been proposedfor using in space power systems [2]. However, they produce lithium oxide (Li2O), which boils at 2800 K at 1 atm and hence at a lower temperature in vacuum. Fortunately, there exist many mixtures that release a lot of heat and form only condensed products during the combustion. Many such mixtures have been used for self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) of various materials [3, 4]. For the application discussed here, t itanium/boron (1:2 mole ratio) mixture appears to be particularly promising. The specific energy is 4.0 MJ/kg (1.1 kWh/kg), the adiabatic flame temperature is about 3200 K, and the reaction forms solid titanium diboride (TiB2, melting point: 3500 K). The mixture can be ignited easily with a heated tungsten wire, and it has been used widely as a booster to ignite the main mixture in the SHS process.Estimates: Assuming that specific heat of regolith is 500 J/(kg∙K) [5] and all generated heat is transferred to regolith, 12.5 kg of the Ti/B mixture would increase the temperature of 1000 kg of regolith by 100 K. To evaluate the rate of heat transfer in the regolith, a spherical model was analyzed where the heat released by a 12.5 kg Ti/B core propagates by thermal conduction through a 1000 kg regolith shell with no heat loss from its outer surface. At a bulk density of 1500 kg/m3 [5], the radius of the shell was 54 cm, while the radius of the core was about 11 cm. The calculations were conducted using Thermal Desktop SINDA/FLUINT (Cullimore and Ring Technologies) software at two constant values of bulk thermal conductivityk of the regolith: 0.001 and 0.01 W/(m∙K). The results show that after 14.5 days the core lost 31% of the released heat at the lower k and 77% at the higher k. At a distance of 20 cm from the core surface, the temperature of the regolith increased by only 1 K at the lower k and by 132 K at the higher k. In reality, the regolith near the heat source will be melted, so its thermal conductivity will increase significantly. Nevertheless, the conducted estimates indicate that combustion-based heat generators, placed directly in the regolith, could provide heat during a rather long period such as the lunar night.Conclusion: Heat generators based on gasless combustion of highly energetic reactive mixtures could be installed directly in the surface layer of lunar regolith. Because of the low thermal conductivity of the regolith, such generators would keep thermal energy for days and gradually supply heat to a rover/lander.Acknowledgment: The material presented in this work is based upon the work supported by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Grant #80NSSC20K0293.References: [1] Balasubramaniam R. et al. (2011) J. Thermophys. Heat Trans., 25,130−139. [2] Blair R.G. and Vasu S.S. (2022) Conf. Advanced Power Systems for Deep Space Exploration. [3] Varma A. et al. (1998) Adv. Chem. Eng., 24,79−226. [4] Levashov E.A. et al. (2017) Int. Mater. Rev., 62,203−239. [5] Wood-Robinson R. et al. (2019) J. Geophys. Res. Planets, 124, 1989−2011.

lunar↗