Numerical Simulation of Thermal Loads for In-Situ Constructed Lunar Bases

Numerical Simulation of Thermal Loads for In-Situ Constructed Lunar Bases | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Numerical Simulation of Thermal Loads for In-Situ Constructed Lunar Bases Yuebin Hou, Wei Xu, Ji Li, Xuan Wang, Zhenpeng Liu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7526261/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Building loads are critical design constraints for lunar bases and their thermal control systems due to the Moon’s extreme environment. In this study, we develop a directional solar irradiance model for the lunar surface and use numerical simulations to analyze the heating and cooling loads of in-situ regolith-based double-shell bases at different latitudes. The results show that the double-shell structure provides exceptional thermal insulation performance and reduces interior surface temperature fluctuations by a factor of six. The thermal insulation performance of the hollow layer is much better than that of the solid regolith walls. Building loads are found to be influenced by both solar and lunar surface radiation, showing non-monotonic variation with latitude. Under solar radiation, certain latitudes may exhibit cooling demands during daytime. Through strategic site selection, optimized architectural geometry and building envelope design, and environmental heat utilization, it is possible to maintain habitable indoor conditions while simultaneously reducing construction costs and operational energy requirements. Physical sciences/Energy science and technology Physical sciences/Engineering Lunar base Building load Solar radiation Numerical simulation In-situ construction Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7526261","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":512610849,"identity":"85cc28df-c22b-4ac1-a446-dafd9882d118","order_by":0,"name":"Yuebin Hou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"China Academy of Building Research","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yuebin","middleName":"","lastName":"Hou","suffix":""},{"id":512610850,"identity":"064ec5dd-9070-4ace-b4aa-c1de2c84646d","order_by":1,"name":"Wei Xu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAtUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYLCCBAMbOTb25gOkaClIM+bjOZZAijUfDifOk8hRIE6xwY0cwwcPDA6ntzHkMDD8qNhGWIvkjBxjgwSD9Nw2hrMHGHvO3CashV8id5tEgoF1bhtjXwIzYxsRWtgkcrf/SDBgTmdj5jEgTgvIFmAgOyewsRGrRbLn/Wegw9IM23jYEg4S5ReD42mJH3/8sZGXn//44IMfFURoQQEHSFQ/CkbBKBgFowAXAADBZzi1NbehUwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"China Academy of Building Research","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wei","middleName":"","lastName":"Xu","suffix":""},{"id":512610851,"identity":"598dc6c7-60cc-445b-ad83-1604f536b7ce","order_by":2,"name":"Ji Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"China Academy of Building Research","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ji","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":512610852,"identity":"140fa2fe-bd12-4944-826a-dd6ea8e66983","order_by":3,"name":"Xuan Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"China Academy of Building Research","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xuan","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":512610853,"identity":"9d4b7967-ef2a-4367-84a9-8551d90a4926","order_by":4,"name":"Zhenpeng Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"China Academy of Building Research","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhenpeng","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-09-03 11:08:22","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7526261/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7526261/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":91921813,"identity":"6f738585-6dc5-4ba4-be2a-48f73acd9b91","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-23 01:26:22","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":944599,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"NumericalSimulationofThermalLoadsforInSituConstructedLunarBases.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7526261/v1_covered_339e5844-fb1a-4fe3-b007-e11cb6d5e0de.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Numerical Simulation of Thermal Loads for In-Situ Constructed Lunar Bases","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Lunar base, Building load, Solar radiation, Numerical simulation, In-situ construction","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7526261/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7526261/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eBuilding loads are critical design constraints for lunar bases and their thermal control systems due to the Moon\u0026rsquo;s extreme environment. In this study, we develop a directional solar irradiance model for the lunar surface and use numerical simulations to analyze the heating and cooling loads of in-situ regolith-based double-shell bases at different latitudes. The results show that the double-shell structure provides exceptional thermal insulation performance and reduces interior surface temperature fluctuations by a factor of six. The thermal insulation performance of the hollow layer is much better than that of the solid regolith walls. Building loads are found to be influenced by both solar and lunar surface radiation, showing non-monotonic variation with latitude. Under solar radiation, certain latitudes may exhibit cooling demands during daytime. 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