Experimental Evaluation and Semi-Empirical Modeling of the Tractive Performance of Rigid and Flexible Wheels on Lunar Soil Simulant

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dc.contributor.authorTaylor, Benjamin Paulen
dc.contributor.committeechairSandu, Corinaen
dc.contributor.committeememberAhmadian, Mehdien
dc.contributor.committeememberTaheri, Saieden
dc.contributor.departmentMechanical Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:41:25Zen
dc.date.adate2009-07-21en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:41:25Zen
dc.date.issued2009-07-09en
dc.date.rdate2009-07-21en
dc.date.sdate2009-07-13en
dc.description.abstractUnderstanding the effects of various wheel parameters on tractive performance is not completely understood. In order to properly quantify the individual effects of wheel parameters on the mobility of rigid and flexible wheels in soft soil, tests were performed, in cooperation with NASA Glenn Research Center (NASA-GRC), using the terramechanics rig at the Virginia Tech Advanced Vehicle Dynamics Lab (AVDL). To conduct such a study, four different wheels were evaluated under similar normal loads, slip ratios, and soil density. The first wheel represents the baseline, against which all the others were benchmarked. The remaining three wheels included the following parameter changes: 1) same diameter as the baseline but wider, 2) same width as the baseline but smaller in diameter, and 3) same width and diameter as the baseline but with a longer contact length. For each test the normal load, drawbar pull, and driving torque were measured and recorded for further analysis. To measure the effect of the changes in the wheels' parameters on the contact patch under different loads, a pressure pad was embedded below the surface of the Lunar simulant to measure the contact patch shape, size, and pressure distribution. Analysis of the experimental results showed that the drawbar pull was more significantly affected by the wheel diameter than by the contact width, and that same trend followed suit for the driving torque. Overall, the greater contact patch area resulted in a higher drawbar pull and torque.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-07132009-163511en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-07132009-163511/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/33995en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartBen_Taylor_Masters_Thesis_Final_ETD.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectwheel mobilityen
dc.subjectoff-road testingen
dc.subjectLunar soil simulanten
dc.titleExperimental Evaluation and Semi-Empirical Modeling of the Tractive Performance of Rigid and Flexible Wheels on Lunar Soil Simulanten
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineMechanical Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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