| Summary: | Lunar regolith is the preferred material for lunar base construction using in situ resource utilization technology. The TiO<sub>2</sub> variations in lunar regolith collected from different locations significantly impact its suitability as a construction material. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the effects of TiO<sub>2</sub> on the properties of lunar regolith. This study aims to evaluate the influence of TiO<sub>2</sub> content and sintering temperature on phase transformation, microstructure, and macroscopic properties (e.g., the shrinkage rate, mechanical properties, and relative density) of lunar regolith simulant samples (CUG-1A). The flexural strength and relative density of the sample with a TiO<sub>2</sub> content of 6 wt% sintered at 1100 °C reached 136.66 ± 4.92 MPa and 91.06%, which were 65% and 12.28% higher than those of the sample not doped with TiO<sub>2</sub>, respectively. The experiment demonstrated that the doped TiO<sub>2</sub> not only reacted with Fe to form pseudobrookite (Fe<sub>2</sub>TiO<sub>5</sub>) but also effectively reduced the viscosity of the glass phase during heat treatment. As the sintering temperature increased, the particles underwent a gradual melting process, leading to a higher proportion of the liquid phase. The higher liquid-phase content had a positive impact on the diffusion of mass transfer, causing the voids and gaps between particles to shrink. This shrinkage resulted in greater density and, ultimately, improved the mechanical properties of the material.
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