Experimental study and analysis of the wheels’ steering mechanics for planetary exploration wheeled mobile robots moving on deformable terrain

Abstract

Due to the requirements of challenging planetary exploration missions with wheeled mobile robots (WMRs), the driving mechanics of WMRs’ wheels moving on the deformable terrain has been researched intensively, but the mechanics of the wheels’ steering is lacking research. Systematic steering experiments were carried out using a single-wheel testbed for wheels moving on a lunar soil simulant with different radii, widths, lug heights, and lug numbers under different vertical loads. The influence of the eccentric distance and motion state, such as the steering motor’s angular velocity, steering angle, and initial wheel sinkage, were also studied. The experimental results are illustrated with plenty of figures and analyzed based on the preliminary steering mechanics model to draw conclusions. The steering resistance moment is caused by the lateral bulldoze stress and the shearing stress at the bottom of the wheel. The wheel sinkage and steering moment of resistance increase with an increase in steering angle, which could be fitted with exponential functions. The steering moment is the increasing function of the wheel sinkage, eccentric distance, vertical load, and wheel width. The conclusions, empirical models, and experimental data can be taken as references to the optimal design of a steering mechanism and the development/verification of a wheel’s steering mechanics model.