NASA Drum Chalenge

grabcad

Low gravity is essential for the concept of a bucket-type excavator with forced bucket emptying. It's impossible to efficiently utilize free-flowing regolith from the inside of the blade closer to the drum axis while simultaneously rotating the regolith without causing loading problems due to rotation speed! With low gravity, the ratio of gravitational force to centrifugal force affecting the blade wall changes dramatically! My concept utilizes a forced removal method for rotating regolith from blades towards the inside of the drum using a blade content ejector. This solution allows 95% of material to be reliably removed from each blade in the hopper position. The momentum of rotating regolith in the blade and its direction change are used in the loading process. Unloading of regolith from the reservoir is done by gravity. Intended materials include shovels, drum, and ejector with ribs made of titanium sheet, contact wheels made of titanium, grabs on shovels made of cemented carbide, springs made of steel, and bearings made of a combination of titanium and steel. The drum magazine features no internal partitions, allowing for 100% filling. The volume of regolith capture is 32.04 liters. Using the same electric motor to rotate both blades and drum increases efficiency. Loading blades include four high-efficiency blades per system, each with a grab for uncoupling hard regolith. A brush at the opposite end of each blade constantly contacts the drum, insulating regolith inside the rotating blade. Regolith cannot get into the gap between the blade and the drum, preventing blockage. The construction of both the blade and drum prevents irreversible clogging due to large pieces of regolith. Using a wider loading aperture in the drum and suitable handling makes it possible to load larger pieces (130 mm) than the blade size.