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3D DEM analysis of soil excavation test on lunar regolith simulant

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Abstract

To validate the application of three-dimensional (3D) discrete element method (DEM) on modeling the excavation process, a discrete analogue of lunar regolith simulant is excavated under terrestrial conditions using DEM and the results were compared with the previous experimental data using TJ-1 lunar soil simulant. The soil failure mechanism is first described at different scales, with detailed DEM studies of excavation force, earth pressure, soil heap, void ratio changes, APR (average micro-pure rotation rate) field, particle displacements and velocities. Following these, the effects of cutting depth, cutting angle, blade width on the excavation force and size of the affected zone are analyzed and compared with the experimental data. The results illustrate that a “real-time” affected zone can be identified from the APR field and particle velocities which fluctuate significantly in a similar tendency to the excavation force at the post-peak stage. In contract, a “cumulative” affected zone can be identified from the void ratio and particle displacements, which remain increasing gradually at the post-peak stage and invariable when the excavation displacement is large enough to allow a stable soil heap to form. In addition, the simulation results can capture the effects of cutting depth, cutting angle and blade width, which reveals the validity of the numerical modeling approach and thus further studies on the effects of lunar environments on soil excavation can be carried out using DEM.

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Acknowledgements

The research was funded by National Nature Science Foundation of China with Grant Nos.51639008 and 51890911, which are sincerely appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Collage of Civil Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China

    Banglu Xi

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Mingjing Jiang

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, Surrey, UK

    Liang Cui

  4. Anhui Key Laboratory of Civil Engineering Structures and Materials, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China

    Banglu Xi

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  1. Banglu Xi
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Correspondence to Mingjing Jiang.

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Xi, B., Jiang, M. & Cui, L. 3D DEM analysis of soil excavation test on lunar regolith simulant. Granular Matter 23, 1 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-020-01070-6

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