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Lauren Van Dyke
Washington University in St. Louis
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Advisor: Professor Raymond E. Arvidson
Abstract
In an attempt to develop an extraction plan for Spirit, a model of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) has been created in Adams dynamic modeling software. Simulations were performed in this model to gain insight into rover response to various drive sequences. Post-processing produced data such as yaw, pitch, roll, and frictional forces for each of these simulations. The original Adams model used a simplified wheel-soil contact model based on Stribeck parameters, limiting rover drive simulations to firmly-packed soils. An advanced model is currently being developed to more accurately simulate drive sequences over soft soils. This model is derived from the original dynamic model, but it uses the Bekker equations to define soil parameters instead of the simplified Stribeck model. Another model using a simplified version of the Bekker equations is also being created as an intermediate tool until the advanced model is completed. Upon completion of the deformable soils component of the advanced rover model, calibration using previously completed drives will be performed to increase the model's capability to accurately predict rover movement. This accuracy will allow proposed drive sequences to be simulated in the model before they are completed, allowing drives with a high risk of slip and sinkage to be rerouted, preventing Opportunity from meeting the fate of Spirit.
Lauren Van Dyke is a sophomore at Washington University in St. Louis from Green Bay, Wisconsin. She is majoring in Earth and Planetary Sciences with a minor in Environmental Engineering, and she is a member of the Pathfinder Program in Environmental Sustainability. Lauren plans to attend graduate school in either Environmental Engineering or the Geosciences, eventually pursuing a job in environmental consulting.
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