STUDY ON SLIP RATIO, DRAWBAR PULL AND STRESS DISTRIBUTION MODELS OF PLANETARY ROVERS - A REVIEW

This paper presents a review of recent advancements in the study of mobility of planetary rovers in terms of size parameter; slip ratio and drawbar pull which are concluded from various research works. In designing a planetary rover, it is necessary to eva luate the effect of model size parameters such as weight, diameter/width and grousers of a wheel on its travelling performance. This travelling performance depends on the wheel mechanism/track mechanism with no effect from change in rover weight, for track ed mechanism. However, for the wheeled mechanism the travelling performance decreases as the rover weight increases. The wheel diameter rather than wheel width, improves travelling performance. The provision of lugs improves travelling performance. The pap er describes the analytical method for predicting the stress distribution beneath the wheel when it interacted with the soil. The salient observations and inferences on the research carried out by various researchers pertaining to the travelling performanc e of planetary rovers are also outlined.