Abstract This paper presents the effects of different wheel grouser shapes on the traction performance of a grouser wheel traveling on sandy terrain. Grouser wheels are locomotion gears that allow small and lightweight exploration rovers to traverse on the loose sand on extraterrestrial surfaces. Although various grouser shapes have been analyzed by some research groups, a more synthetic and direct comparison of possible grousers is required for practical applications. In this study, we developed a single wheel testbed and experimentally investigated the effects of four grouser shapes (parallel, slanted, V-shaped, and offset V-shaped) on the traction performance of linear movement on flat sand. The wheel slip, sinkage, traction and side force acting on the wheel axle, the wheel driving torque, and the efficiency of each wheel were examined. Thereafter, the effects on the lateral slope traversability of a small and lightweight four-wheeled rover with different grouser shapes were also examined. The traversability experiment demonstrated the vehicle mobility performance in order to contribute to the design optimization of rover systems. These experimental results and their comparisons suggested that, of the shapes studies herein, the slanted shape was the optimal grouser design for use in wheeled rovers on lunar and planetary soil.

中文翻译：

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轮式履带板形状对沙地牵引性能的影响

摘要 本文介绍了不同车轮履带齿形状对沙地履带履带轮牵引性能的影响。履带轮是一种运动齿轮，可让小型轻便的探测车在外星表面的松散沙地上行驶。尽管一些研究小组已经分析了各种履带齿形状，但实际应用中需要对可能的履带齿进行更综合和直接的比较。在这项研究中，我们开发了一个单轮试验台，并通过实验研究了四种履带齿形状（平行、倾斜、V 形和偏置 V 形）对平沙上直线运动牵引性能的影响。检查车轮滑移、下沉、牵引力和作用在轮轴上的侧向力、车轮驱动扭矩和每个车轮的效率。此后，还研究了具有不同履带齿形状的小型轻型四​​轮漫游车对侧坡穿越能力的影响。穿越性实验证明了车辆的移动性能，以有助于漫游车系统的设计优化。这些实验结果及其比较表明，在本文的形状研究中，倾斜形状是用于月球和行星土壤上的轮式漫游车的最佳履带齿设计。