DROD: A hybrid biomimetic undulatory and reciprocatory drill: Quantitative analysis and numerical study

Abstract

This article presents a novel hybrid evolution of the biologically-inspired dual-reciprocating drill (DRD). The proposed system combines the reciprocation motion used by previous iterations of the wood wasp drill with a proposed new undulatory/oscillation motion. This is inspired by the caudal fins of marine creatures, which use this motion to generate a thrust force to propel themselves through water, and sandfish, which use an undulatory body motion to bury and hide themselves in sand. It is proposed that including this motion will significantly enhance the performance of the DRD, resulting in the design of the novel dual reciprocation oscillation drill (DROD). The development of this third generation of the DRD system is also targeting full integration with planetary rovers. Several improvements have also been proposed to improve its suitability for a space exploration mission, such as a compact size, a large (173 cm3) automated sampling compartment, potential stem flexibility and customised drill bits for exploiting the various regolith physical properties on planetary bodies. This article presents a quantitative and numerical analysis of the DROD design. The feasibility of the DROD has been proved by the kinematics and dynamics simulations produced by MATLAB and ADAMS. Finally, the effectiveness of different drilling motions was studied numerically using discrete element modelling and multi-body dynamic (EDEM-ADAMS) co-simulations. This revealed the underlying mechanisms of the drill–soil interactions and will pave the way for the development of robust numerical models for different regoliths in the future.