Xerogel-based building material (XBM): potential for construction on Mars base and other resourceless sites

We propose a new composite that uses xerogel to bind sand particles to be used as the building materials for the Mars base. As the xerogel can be made by mixing minor polymer into water (available as ice), the xerogel-based building material (XBM) can maximize the in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). XBM cubes, after being cured under terrestrial environment (room temperature and approximately 1 atm.) or Mars-like environment ( -55°C and 0.00001 atm.), can achieve adequate mechanical properties for sustaining an apartment-size dome under the lower gravity on Mars (1/3 g). DEM is used to simulate the failure of XBM.