Crane Structured - Inflatable Supported Lunar gantry

grabcad

My proposal consists of a deployable crane, ideally dimensioned to hold only the gantry system at its operational position.An inflatable structure, consisting of a total of 9 tubes, inflate and hold the gantry and the load, only during loading/unloading and transport.This structure adapts to the two scenarios: loaded and unloaded gantry. The structure is held either by the crane or by the inflatable structure, according to the operation condition.Moreover, two extra wheeled modules, will both act as feet for the inflatable structure and, simultaneously, will offer more stability to the crane. This is of special interest when the inflatable structure is in low-pressure-state, to avoid gas leakage.The two front wheeled modules as well as the crane module will shelter the gas tanks, compressors, and necessary piping and pneumatic components, as well as the motors for the wheels.The gantry system includes 2 solar panels. These could be extended by adding deployable extra units along the crane.Both the crane itself and the lattice structure that joints the wheeled modules are telescopic. They are expected to only deploy once.The lattice structure could be used as casing for the wiring. This way, only one port could be used to charge all 3 modules.The idea of using 9 independent tubes is motivated by the idea of increasing safety by adding redundances.The considered material is VectranTM, as it is mentioned in the bibliography and numeric information to be used in the simulation was provided. Other suggested materials would, of course, fit the model.This simulation, although not being faithful to an inflatable structure as the tubes are solid, shows the consistency of CAD data for being used in further simulation.Anyways, results have been provided for Von Misses stresses below the value of Mw, according to the bibliography.Since the crane structure is based on well-known and extended technolgy, it is feasible to develop a prototype for such design. Furthermore, it can be easily scaled for different crane heights.Being one side fully open, under the frontal arch, the structure can easily access landers and any other load. Moreover, it allows cooperation between other units. This can be especially useful when having to deal with long loads.I would like to thank and mention:- Gil P. de Paulo grabcad.com/gil.p.de.paulo-1 for his model SpaceX Astronaut – used in renders - grabcad.com/library/spacex-astronaut-2- Mustafa Seif grabcad.com/mustafa.seif-1 for his model NASA Futuristic Mars Rover – used in renders - grabcad.com/library/nasa-futuristic-mars-rover-2- Sheila, for being my life crane, pneumatic power and my gantry system down here in EarthYou can find the simulation in: simscale.com/projects/srbada/inflatable/I wish this idea can be useful in inspiring solutions for the Artemis mission.Thank you, NASA, for letting us participate and thank you, GrabCAD community, to take part in this challenging project!