Open AccessRegolith Excavation Performance of a Screw‐Propelled Vehicle
Author(s) -
Green Marko,
McBryan Teresa,
Mick Darwin,
Nelson David,
Marvi Hamid
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
advanced intelligent systems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2640-4567
DOI - 10.1002/aisy.202100125
Subject(s) - excavation , excavator , regolith , mars exploration program , traverse , engineering , mining engineering , geology , geotechnical engineering , mechanical engineering , astrobiology , physics , geodesy
Excavation of regolith is the enabling process for many of the in situ resource utilization (ISRU) efforts that are being considered to aid in the human exploration of the moon and Mars. Most proposed planetary excavation systems are integrated with a wheeled vehicle, but none yet have used a screw‐propelled vehicle which can significantly enhance the excavation performance. Therefore, CASPER, a novel screw‐propelled excavation rover, is developed and analyzed to determine its effectiveness as a planetary excavator. The excavation rate, power, velocity, cost of transport, and a new parameter, excavation transport rate, are analyzed for various configurations of the vehicle through mobility and excavation tests performed in silica sand. The optimal configuration yields a 30 kg h −1 excavation rate and 10.2 m min −1 traverse rate with an overall system mass of 3.4 kg and power draw of less than 30 W. These results indicate that this architecture shows promise as a planetary excavation because it provides significant excavation capability with low mass and power requirements. An interactive preprint version of the article can be found here: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.162823910.04538641/v1 .