Analysis on the tractive performance of lunar rover wheel on soft sands

摘要

It is very important for exploring that the lunar rover enhances the tractive performance. Tractive performance could be measured by these parameters such as sinkage, drawbar pull, driving torque, motion resistance and slip when the lunar wheels move. The parameters could be gotten by soil bin test. The soils in the bin are mined in volcano. The variation of the parameters with the vertical load and velocity is analyzed in the paper, slip ratio is below 18%, the motion resistance increases with the velocity, but slip ratio is greater than 18%, the parameter decreases with the increasing velocity. Meanwhile, the rutting of the wheel of lunar rover is simulated by FEM.