The behavior of sulfur regolith concrete under micrometeoroid impacts for lunar surface structures

The need to reduce launch payload, which is critical for sustainable lunar missions and long-term surface operations, has driven the development of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) materials. Sulfur-based regolith concrete (SRC), produced by mixing lunar regolith with sulfur as a binder, has emerged as a promising ISRU-based construction material. However, lunar structures remain vulnerable to micrometeoroid hypervelocity impacts (HVI), which can cause severe structural damage. In this study, a calibrated Johnson–Holmquist II (JH-2) constitutive model was parameterized for SRC using numerical simulations in Abaqus/Explicit across a range of impact conditions, including varying projectile sizes, velocities, and angles. The model parameters were determined through a detailed calibration process, synthesizing experimental data from similar brittle materials to capture the strength, damage, and equation-of-state (EOS) behavior of SRC within the available validation envelope. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify critical material properties (such as compressive strength, density, and Hugoniot Elastic Limit) that significantly influence impact resistance. Simulation results demonstrated good agreement with experimental crater dimensions and damage morphologies for the available SRC benchmark condition. The predicted crater-depth trends were further benchmarked against classical strength-regime π -group scaling to contextualize extrapolation beyond the available experimental conditions. The resulting framework supports design-oriented assessment of SRC crater geometry and damage under a broader set of HVI scenarios, while highlighting the need for additional SRC impact benchmarks at higher velocities and oblique incidence. Findings from this study provide quantitative guidance for designing resilient lunar infrastructure capable of withstanding micrometeoroid bombardment.