For economic, scientific and survival reasons, colonisation of other planets is proposed. Mars is the most suitable place to start. To start an early Martian colony, viable In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) methods of low energy consumption are required to manufacture strong bulk construction materials. Most other studies have used infeasible materials or processes to investigate the possibility of manufacturing construction materials on Mars. This study investigated answers to this problem and assessed the feasibility thereof under strict requirements. A literature study has specified Martian regolith as the optimal raw resource. The use of water was not feasible. Simulants MGS-1 and JEZ-1 were used as materials analogous to Martian regolith. Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) has been chosen as the optimal production method considering Martian regolith and the environment. An experimental study has verified the feasibility of the proposed material combined with the proposed method. Standard compressive tests, CT, SEM, SEM-EDS, DSC-TGA, Taguchi Design, MSEL and SPS, accompanied by standard measurements, yielded the following information: uniaxial compressive strength, density (distribution), macro porosity, microstructure, elemental composition, compaction, and energy requirement. Both simulant types were subject to three modifications: particle size, particle size reduction method and drying. Four SPS parameters have been analysed: temperature, duration, applied coating and applied pressure. The minimum required compressive strength of 1.9 MPa was readily achieved. A maximum compressive strength of 137 MPa was found with an average of 48.50 MPa. Combined with the possible shape geometries of SPS, the manufactured material is expected to be structurally applicable. The measured theoretical energy requirement was 17.07 GJ/m3. The applied energy use was 2.72 TJ/m3. A reference dome requires a feasible theoretical 89.5 kW or infeasible applied 14.3 MW for one year. The latter value was elevated due to experimental factors. The actual energy requirement of a Martian mission is expected to be closer to the theoretical energy requirement due to efficiency improvements. Water vapour was produced during sintering. This is a vital benefit to a Martian colony. To conclude, ISRU bulk construction material manufacturing on Mars, for early colony development, is possible with regolith simulant and SPS.

With rapid industrialisation, the infrastructure sector has seen exponential growth in prefabricated concrete elements due to their speedy construction and efficient usage of material. Precast concrete elements have thus observed some deterioration due to increased internal temperature as a result of rapid curing, and also through deliberate heat curing techniques. This has led to researchers in the past to study the effect of such curing conditions on the durability aspect of the binders, especially their impact on Delayed Ettringite Formation. Precast elements such as railway sleepers, exposed to in the humid environment were thus prone to internal sulphate attack and needs to be investigated. Use of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) as a substitution for binder content in conventional portland cement in the Netherlands has been prevalent since the early 1900s primarily because of its abundant resource from iron industry. The benefits of slag have been then exploited as it was one of the supplementary cementitious systems which along with being a sustainable solution, provides good resistance to environmental degradation such as chloride penetration resistance. However, their advantages surrounding extreme curing conditions have to be studied, unless used at optimised quantities. The research focused on the potential of blast furnace slag systems to undergo internal sulphate attack due to high internal temperatures. The simulation of high internal temperature was done through heat curing inside an oven following which continuous storage under lime solution was carried out in order to saturate the system. Slag systems at low and high substitution levels (20% & 50%) were used along with a combination of coarser and finer surface areas, to investigate their subsequent influence was chosen for the study. Also, since infrastructure industry adopts CEM II & CEM III-A cement type, where the former was low slag concentration with moderate fineness and the latter with higher substitution level of slag in combination with high overall fineness, their potentials for DEF have also been studied. For all the mixes, the influence of high curing temperature and exposure to moisture was studied through microstructural changes, pore size variations and mineralogical composition effect along with fineness on paste specimens. All studies were compared to reference systems of CEM I, which was observed to be the most detrimental due to DEF. Test results indicate that at lower substitution levels of slag secondary ettringite forms in significant quantities in neat systems along with traces of carbo-aluminate phases in the case of slag systems. Also, higher substitution levels does not appear to completely suppress the formation of ettringite after exposure. Its formation in both the cases showed more or less no influence of fineness of slag added, except in the case of pore size distribution. The significant presence of carbo-aluminates was observed in the case of all slag systems that could prove to be beneficial as they do not translate to deteriorative expansion.

Experimental research into the spalling behaviour of mortars and if it is possible to predict the spalling resistance. Research is divided into spalling experiments with varying parameters and experiments to analyse and characterize the pore structure. By combining both results, a first step is taken into a formula that is able to predict the spalling behaviour of cement based materials.