Establishment of Lunar Soil Excavation Model and Experimental Simulation Study

Understanding and clarifying the excavation mechanism of lunar soil, as well as the interaction between the sampling shovel and lunar soil, are crucial for improving surface sampling efficiency and ensuring equipment safety. Based on the Swick and Perumpral model, an excavation model for the sampling shovel during the surface sampling process was established. This study focuses on JLU-6 simulated lunar soil and conducts a total of 81 experiments to investigate the sampling depth, excavation torque, and sampling volume under different sampling conditions, such as excavation angles and soil compaction levels. In addition, discrete element simulations of the surface sampling excavation process were conducted. The results indicated that the mass of soil excavated by the sampling shovel increased with the sampling angle, while the sampling increment decreased as the angle increased. The sampling resistance also increased with the sampling angle, with most of the additional resistance being used to shear and break the soil layers, rather than being fully converted into an increase in the sampling volume. At the same time, the established excavation model was analyzed through both experiments and simulations. The analysis results show that the model can predict the excavation resistance based on the excavation angle and depth, providing a reference for in-orbit operations.