http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
tool interaction in a lunar soil simulant
With the establishment of a lunar base, or the landing of a
robotic rover on the Moon, excavation of the lunar soil will
be integral to the missions success. Many researchers have
addressed the problem of lunar excavation, but most of the
work to date has been conjecture based with a simple
extrapolation of terrestrial excavation techniques to the
lunar environment. In order to understand the process of
physically removing an insitu soil mass with a tool, the
excavation process is analyzed for its determinants. Through
arrangement of these determinants, various excavating
implements and techniques can be compared by virtue of their
overall efficiency. In this arrangement of the parameters of
excavation, it is found that force is derived from constant
parameters. With this, it is determined that the force
required for a tool to fail the lunar soil is the first step
in determining its overall efficiency. Thus, it is the first
parameter investigated in this research process. With the
lunar soil being a vital national resource, various lunar
soil simulants have been developed. Researchers then conduct
experiments upon this lunar soil simulant. In this research,
the index properties of the lunar soil simulant (JSC-1) are
assessed and compared to that of the lunar soil. An apparatus
that can draw tools of various configurations through the
compacted JSC-1 lunar soil simulant is developed. It has the
capability of variable tool speed, and measures the
horizontal force required to fail the lunar soil simulant
over time. Flat blades of various scale ratios are affixed
to this apparatus and drawn through the lunar soil simulant
while measuring force and time. Upon the conclusion of each
test, the mode of soil failure and the dimensions of the
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