Design of a High Traction Flexible Wheel for the Next Generation of Manned Lunar Rovers.

Foreseeing a permanent settlement on the moon, the astronauts will need a rover to explore the lunar environment on a daily basis. The goal of this project is to develop a new wheel that is able to provide more control, comfort, and drawbar pull in order to safely reach remote areas. Following a thorough design method, a new concept of flexible wheel that aims to provide a higher drawbar pull while being sturdy and able to operate under the moon environment for a long time without maintenance was achieved. First, the terramechanic principles were used, based on the NWVPM model by J.Y. Wong, with the lunar soil and our rover requirements as inputs to optimize the dimensions and deflection necessary to achieve the most drawbar pull at a 20% slip ratio. Then, a simple dynamic model was used to determine the level of damping required to dissipate the energy stored by the high deflection of the wheel. After many trials, a final wheel design was obtained, and ANSYS coupled with experimental tests were used to rapidly get a first working prototype that should fulfill the requirements while not being optimal yet. Finally, the prototype is tested statically and dynamically in order to validate its behaviors. Results are presented and discussed.