Design of manned lunar rover wheels and improvement in soil mechanics formulas for elastic wheels in consideration of deformation

Most of the current lunar rover vehicle wheels are inconvenient for changing broken wheels and have poor shock absorbing in driving, so they cannot be used to carry people on the moon. To meet the demands for manned lunar transportation, a new wheel possessing a woven metal wire mesh tire and using hub-rim combination slide mechanism is designed in this article. The characteristics of the new wheel is analyzed by comparing with the same-size conventional rover wheels after demonstrating the validity of FEM simulation. The new wheel possesses lighter structure and superior shock absorbing. It also provides stronger traction because the deformation of the designed wheel increases the contact area between the tire and lunar terrain. In order to establish an on-line soil parameter estimation algorithm for low cohesion soil, the stress distribution along a driven deformable wheel on off-road terrain is simplified. The basic mechanics equations of the interaction between the wheel and the lunar soil can be used for analytical analysis. Simulation results show that the soil estimation algorithm can accurately and efficiently identify key soil parameters for loose sand.     

ROSTDyn: Rover simulation based on terramechanics and dynamics

In recent years, rover-based planetary exploration missions have induced some new challenges related to both the speed and the fidelity of rover simulation. This paper introduces ROSTDyn (rover simulation based on terramechanics and dynamics), a good-fidelity (in a linear motion without side forces and related torques), real-time (with an Intel Core2 CPU and ATI Radeon HD 4650 GPU) simulation platform for planetary rovers developed using C++ on the basis of the Vortex physics engine. The inherent trade-off between high fidelity and high speed is overcome by using an improved and simplified terramechanics model and Vortex. This paper presents the key technologies and algorithms constituting ROSTDyn, including the creation of the rover model and terrain model, computation of contact-area parameters, computation of interactive force/torque model, and ROSTDyn’s implementation. Speed tests confirm that ROSTDyn can perform a real-time simulation when the display frequency is less than 45 Hz and the computation frequency is less than 450 Hz. A comparison of the simulation and experiment results for an example involving a six-wheel rover climbing a series of slopes confirms the good fidelity of ROSTDyn.     

On the treatment of soft soil parameter uncertainties in planetary rover mobility simulations

Nowadays soft soil–wheel contact models are widely used for predicting the mobility of rovers in off-road applications. However, most of the contact models used in computer simulations are based on semi-empirical laws for which soil parameters can be assessed only with large uncertainty. This lack of knowledge results in significant uncertainty on the rover position predictions. Applied to a planetary rover model, this paper illustrates probabilistic and non-probabilistic techniques for efficient treatment of soil parameter uncertainty for rover position predictions.     

Further study of the method of approach to testing the performance of extraterrestrial rovers/rover wheels on earth

The current practice for experimentally evaluating the performance of extraterrestrial rovers/rover wheels is to conduct tests on earth on a soil simulant, appropriate to the regolith on the extraterrestrial body of interest. In the tests, the normal load (force) applied by the rover/rover wheel to the soil simulant is set identical to that expected on the extraterrestrial surface, taking into account its acceleration due to gravity. It should be pointed out, however, that the soil simulant used in the tests is subject to earth gravity, while the regolith on the extraterrestrial surface is subject to a different gravity. Thus, it is uncertain whether the performance of the rover/rover wheel obtained from tests on earth represents that on the extraterrestrial surface. This issue has been explored previously. A method has been proposed for conducting tests of the rover/rover wheel on earth with identical mass to that on the extraterrestrial surface, instead of with identical normal load used in the current practice [1]. This paper provides further evidence to substantiate the merits of the proposed method, based on a detailed analysis of the test data obtained under various gravity conditions, produced in an aircraft undergoing parabolic flight manoeuvres [8]. In the study, the effect of slip on wheel sinkage has been evaluated. It is found that gravity has little effect on the slip and sinkage relationship of the rover wheel under self-propelled conditions.     

考虑围压效应的冻结砂土动态本构模型研究

为描述主动围压作用下冻结砂土的动态力学特性,通过在朱-王-唐模型的非线性体上串联塑性体,建立了能够考虑围压效应的冻结砂土动态损伤本构模型;分析了损伤参数对应力-应变曲线特征、屈服点、峰值应力和峰值应变的影响规律,基于冻结砂土动力学试验数据确定了模型参数;通过将模型和试验数据进行对比,并对不同试验条件下模型的预测误差进行分析,验证了模型的适用性和准确性。结果表明,损伤参数对应力-应变曲线弹性阶段和屈服点无明显影响,而对塑性阶段和破坏阶段的影响较为显著,本构模型预测的应力-应变曲线与试验结果具有较好的一致性。模型能够预测围压引起冻结砂土塑性阶段占比大和屈服点明显的特征,且能够描述围压对冻结砂土动态强度的增强效应;不同负温和主动围压条件下,模型对峰值应力和屈服强度的预测效果优于峰值应变和屈服应变。     

粘弹性阻尼修改后结构系统动特性的预测

无阻尼或比例阻尼结构系统经粘弹阻尼修改后,可变为粘弹性阻尼系统。要获得其动特性,需求解复特征值问题。但是,随之带来了计算量大、费用高等问题。尤其是粘弹性材料特性随频率而变化,需求解高阶非线性复特征值问题,这对于一个自由度较大的结构,计算量太大,通常较难实现。本文在特征值修改方法的基础上,提出粘弹性阻尼局部动力修改方法,即仅需已知原结构系统的实模态参数,就可求出粘弹阻尼修改后系统的复模态参数。还发展了特征值和修改量同时迭代方法,有效地解决了粘弹材料复模量随频率变化引起的非线性复特征值问题。     

Characterisation of martian soil simulants for the ExoMars rover testbed

The European Space Agency (ESA) ExoMars mission involves landing a rover on the surface of Mars on an exobiology mission to extend the search for life. The locomotion capabilities of the ExoMars rover will enable it to use its scientific instruments in a wide variety of locations. Before it is sent to Mars, this locomotion system must be tested and its performance limitations understood. To test the locomotion performance of the ExoMars rover, three martian regolith simulants were selected: a fine dust analogue, a fine Aeolian sand analogue, and a coarse sand analogue. To predict the performance of the ExoMars rover locomotion system in these three regolith simulants, it is necessary to measure some fundamental macroscopic properties of the materials: cohesion, friction angle, and various bearing capacity constants. This paper presents the tests conducted to determine these properties. During these tests, emphasis was placed on preparing the regolith simulants at different levels of density in order to evaluate its impact on the value of the parameters in particular. It was shown that compaction can influence the Bekker coefficients of pressure-sinkage. The shear properties are consistent with the critical state model at normal stresses similar to those of the ExoMars rover in all but one of the simulants, which showed behaviour more consistent with transitional soil behaviour. It is necessary to give due consideration to these variations to ensure a robust test regime is developed when testing the tractive ability of the ExoMars mobility system.     

Influence of atmosphere on lunar rover performance analysis based on soil parameter identification

This paper outlines an analysis of the traveling performance of a lunar rover. The analysis is in the form of numerical simulations and it uses soil properties, identified in vacuum, and mechanics of wheel-based travel. The wheel-to-ground contact model and soil parameters are determined first so they could be used in the numerical simulation. A soil test device is introduced and the soil parameters are identified from plate-pressing and shear tests. Finally, numerical simulations are conducted using the parameters identified and their results are discussed along with those of the traveling tests conducted in vacuum. The soil tests indicated that the wheel sinkage into the ground can increase in vacuum and that the shear stress acting beneath the wheel in vacuum is almost the same as that in the atmosphere. Because of these trends, the simulations and traveling tests showed that the traveling performance of the wheel can decrease in vacuum. Although it has been widely considered that the vacuum environments enhance the traveling performance of the wheel, this study confirmed that it is not always the case.     

Bevameter testing on simulant Fillite for planetary rover mobility applications

This paper examines pressure-sinkage and shearing behavior via bevameter testing of a light-weight, granular simulant called Fillite in support of laboratory modeling of rover mobility in high-sinkage, high-slip environments typically found on Mars, the Moon, and other planetary bodies. Normal bevameter test results helped to determine parameters for the Bekker model, the New Model of Mobility (N2M) sinkage model, and the Bekker-Wong model. A case study used the Bekker-Wong model parameters to predict the possible sinkage of 84% into Fillite of a wheel on the Mars Spirit rover, a value within the observed sinkage of 50–90% of the wheel diameter of the Spirit rover on Mars. Shear bevameter testing of Fillite provided a second set of parameters to assess shear behavior, this time simulating the stresses and shear deformations imparted by rotating wheels. The results compared well to the estimated shear stresses and deformations of Martian soil caused by the wheels of the Spirit rover. When compared to other simulants (e.g. GRC-1), the results confirm that Fillite is possibly more suitable for high-sinkage and high-slip rover studies than other typical simulants derived from natural terrestrial soils and rocks.     

Discrete element modelling for wheel-soil interaction and the analysis of the effect of gravity

The discrete element method (DEM) is widely seen as one of the more accurate, albeit more computationally demanding approaches for terramechanics modelling. Part of its appeal is its explicit consideration of gravity in the formulation, making it easily applicable to the study of soil in reduced gravity environments. The parallel particles (P²) approach to terramechanics modelling is an alternate approach to traditional DEM that is computationally more efficient at the cost of some assumptions. Thus far, this method has mostly been applied to soil excavation maneuvers. The goal of this work is to implement and validate the P² approach on a single wheel driving over soil in order to evaluate the applicability of the method to the study of wheel-soil interaction. In particular, the work studies how well the method captures the effect of gravity on wheel-soil behaviour. This was done by building a model and first tuning numerical simulation parameters to determine the critical simulation frequency required for stable simulation behaviour and then tuning the physical simulation parameters to obtain physically accurate results. The former were tuned via the convergence of particle settling energy plots for various frequencies. The latter were tuned via comparison to drawbar pull and wheel sinkage data collected from experiments carried out on a single wheel testbed with a martian soil simulant in a reduced gravity environment. Sensitivity of the simulation to model parameters was also analyzed. Simulations produced promising data when compared to experiments as far as predicting experimentally observable trends in drawbar pull and sinkage, but also showed limitations in predicting the exact numerical values of the measured forces.     

Dynamic model of crop growth system and numerical simulation of crop growth process under the multi-environment external force action

IntroductionAccordingtobiomechanics,thegrowthsystemoffarmlandcropistheartificiallyecologicalsystemthatchangestheenvironmentalresourcefactors(light,temperature,soilwaterandcarbondioxideetc .)intothefarmlandprimaryproductivity .Thesystemisactedbytheexternalforcevariablesofenvironment,inabroadsense,whichincludeslightintensity ,thetemperaturemaintenanceaction ,soilwater,andtheeffectiveuserateofnutrientsetc.Withinsystemisalsoactedbybiologicalvariableswhichincludethecropleafindex ,rootvolume ,biomas…     

Stochastic Vibration Model of Gear Transmission Systems Considering Speed-Dependent Random Errors

A dynamic and stochastic simulation model is developed for analyzing the vibration of gear transmission systems with consideration of the influence of the time-variant stiffness, loads, and gear transmission errors. The gear transmission system is viewed as a non-linear, time-correlated and stationary stochastic system. The transmission errors of gears are decomposed into harmonic and random components based on the spectral analysis. To simulate the random component, a second order Markov process with time-variant parameters considering influence of rotational speed is proposed and the method to determine the model parameters based on the random error of measured gear transmission error is developed. A simulation system is developed. The input to the simulation system is a white Gaussian noise process and harmonic errors, and the output is the rotational vibration acceleration of gears. Experiments are carried out to verify the proposed model. The influences of the random error on vibration acceleration are examined using the developed simulation system.     

梁结构时变物理参数在线识别的谐波传播法

组合梁结构在运动状态下其连接处的物理参数不断变化,导致结构的动态特性也不断发生变化.为了研究组合梁结构在运动状态下的非平稳动态特性以达到对结构振动进行实时控制的目的,必须对结构连接处的物理参数进行在线跟踪辨识.本文在现代谐波识别技术的基础上提出时变系统谐波频率与振型的在线识别算法,并利用波传播方法计算出连接处的力与位移向量,再由连接处位移连续与力平衡条件求得连接处的动刚度,进而求得结构连接处的刚度与阻尼.由于该方法可以简化测试节点,所以可以节省测试成本.仿真算例表明该方法具有良好的跟踪能力与较高的计算精度.     

Simulation of a soil loosening process by means of the modified distinct element method

We apply the Distinct Element Method (DEM) to analyze the dynamic behavior of soil. However, the conventional DEM model for calculation of contact forces between elements has some problems; for example, the movement of elements is too discrete to simulate real soil particle movement. Therefore, we modify the model to solve the difficulties. To investigate the validity of the modified model, we conduct an experiment in which soil is cut with a pendulum-typeblade, and simulate the soil loosening process with the modified DEM model. This paper presents details of the experimental apparatus and the comparison of soil behavior and energy absorption between the simulation and the experiment. Some characteristic phenomena of the experiment are reproduced in the simulation giving us confidence that the modified model is better than the conventional model for the simulation of soil behavior.     

基于轨迹约束的地磁场测量误差修正方法

根据磁强计综合误差的数学模型,提出了一种基于轨迹约束的地磁场测量误差修正的方法,同时也对该方法的有效性进行了分析.该方法首先由磁强计的测量数据,根据椭球轨迹的约束,采用最小均方估计作为判断准则,估计12个误差参数,然后利用此参数获得准确的地磁矢量信息.理论分析和仿真验证表明,在某些情况下,轨迹约束修正算法是不可观测的,也给出了检验不可观测存在的方法.由软磁干扰引起的误差不同于磁强计本身误差和安装误差.在出现由软磁干扰引起的误差时,轨迹约束修正算法仅仅能提供12个误差参数中的9个,其余的3个参数需要借助外在的信息来估计.     

A dynamic eddy-viscosity closure model for large eddy simulations of two-dimensional decaying turbulence

This paper puts forth a simplified dynamic eddy-viscosity subgrid-scale model for the vorticity transport equation which is employed in a large eddy simulation study of freely evolving isotropic two-dimensional turbulent flows. The dynamic parameter is averaged in space, thereby retrieving a spatially constant value which only varies in time. The proposed dynamic model is applied to a two-dimensional decaying turbulence problem in a square periodic box, which is a standard prototype of more realistic turbulent flows in the atmosphere and oceans, in order to eliminate any possible errors associated with the boundary conditions or mesh non-uniformities. Compared with high-resolution direct numerical simulations, the performance of the dynamic model is systematically investigated considering various filtering strategies by means of test filters. The effects of the computational resolution and the filtering ratio between the test and the grid filters are also studied by using a huge set of parameters.     

平流层飞艇气动参数辨识

进入21世纪以来,随着科技的飞速发展,世界上掀起了研究和开发平流层平台的热潮。飞艇作为平流层平台可以实现无线通信、空间观测、大气测量以及军事侦查等目的。本文首先将飞艇所受的气动力分成由于来流速度产生的定常气动力和飞艇转动引起的非定常气动力两部分,通过理论分析建立了飞艇的气动力模型,从而得到需要辨识的气动参数。其次建立了以浮心为原点的六自由度非线性动力学模型和一种基于混合遗传算法的气动力系数辨识方法——混合遗传算法（遗传算法＋单纯型法）与极大似然法相结合的方法,并利用该方法对飞艇的气动参数进行辨识。通过仿真结果验证了该方法实用性和有效性。最后通过对气动参数的准确值与辨识值的分析比较,得出各个参数对飞艇运动性能的影响情况。     

Predicting the performances of rigid rover wheels on extraterrestrial surfaces based on test results obtained on earth

With a growing number of nations interested in planetary exploration, research and development of extraterrestrial rovers have been intensified. The usual practice is to test the performances of rovers on soil simulants on earth, prior to their deployment to extraterrestrial bodies. It is noted that in the tests the soil simulant is subject to the earth gravity, while the terrain on the extraterrestrial surface is subject to a different gravity. Therefore, it is uncertain whether the rover/rover wheel would exhibit the same performance on the extraterrestrial surface as that obtained from tests conducted on earth. This paper describes a practical methodology that can be employed to predict the performances of rover wheels on extraterrestrial surfaces, based on test results obtained on earth. As rigid wheels are used in many extraterrestrial rovers, this study focuses on examining the effects of gravity on the sinkage and compaction resistance of rigid rover wheels. Predictions obtained using the methodology are shown to correlate reasonably well with test data.     

A systematic approach to reliably characterize soils based on Bevameter testing

Although a lot of information about soil parameter identification exists in literature, there is currently no algorithm who makes use both of state of the art identification methodologies and incorporating statistical analysis. In this paper a state of the art soil parameter identification method is presented including the calculation of its standard deviations and a proper weighting of the objective function. With this algorithm and a Bevameter with advanced sensor and actuator technology a test campaign is started to find a reliable soil preparation, which is applicable to a large planetary rover performance testbed. Furthermore, the preparation method has to be valid and stable for various types of dry, granular and frictional soils, typically used for planetary rover testing in space robotics, since the result of pre-tests show that the soil parameters are highly depending on the preparation. Besides preparation, the soil parameters are also influenced by different Bevameter test setup variables. Thus, the effect of the penetration velocity as well as the penetration tool geometry for pressure–sinkage tests on soil parameters is investigated. For shear tests the influence of the dimension of the shear ring is analysed as well as the variation of the grouser height, the number of the grousers and the increase of the rotational shear velocity. The results of the extensive test campaign are evaluated by the proposed identification algorithms.     

螺桨盘转子轴头动刚度实验测量方法及技术处理

在螺桨盘转子系统的颤振涡动研究中,系统的安装刚度对转子的颤振涡动失稳有着重要的作用.对于飞机发动机,实际安装情况十分复杂,发动机短舱.安装节、机翼等对螺桨盘转子的运动均有影响.所以,在颤振涡动研究中,必须考虑轴头的动刚度.轴头的动刚度是通过动柔度转换而来的,而在动柔度的实验测量中必须解决几个技术问题,首先是提高信噪比.其次是消除工艺夹具带来的附加质量和附加转动惯量的影响,从而提高动刚度系数的测量精度.本文通过对模型转子以及某实际桨轴发动机转子轴头动刚度系数的测量及处理,阐述轴头动刚度矩阵的测量方法,以及有关技术问题的处理过程.