Engineering World
E-ISSN: 2692-5079 An Open Access, Peer Reviewed Journal of Selected Publications in Engineering and Applied Sciences
Volume 3, 2021
Design of Mars Rover-Copter System
Authors: , , , , , ,
Abstract: The principal motive is to design and develop a Mars Rover-Copter, a combination of a land rover that travels on ground and a copter that travels above ground. The operation of the RoverCopter is to explore and study the planet Mars for any signs of ancient lives. The earlier inventions in the field was analysed carefully as part of the design process of the Rover-Copter which include the specification of the design obtained in terms of the range of the size, shape, cameras, robotic arm, wheels mobility, propellers, and type of energy to be used, as well as the battery voltage. AutoCAD and ANSYS were utilized in the designing and testing process. The dimensions of the rover to be 0.70 x 0.30 x 0.49 in meters, the total length of the propellers is 1.13 meters, and the length of the robotic arm is 0.45 meter. The ANSYS was used for structural analysis drawing of the components; moreover, the deformation, equivalent strain, factor of safety, pressure, lift, drag force, and elastic stress were tested by applying different forces. ANSYS Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) forecast the effect of the fluid flow on the project; to evaluate the lift and drag forces generated by the propellers at several frameworks with respect to the different aerodynamics in Mars. Due to variety type of terrains on Mars such as rocky or sand landscapes, certain type of wheels were selected to meet the requirement. In addition to that, robotic arm that can extend, retract, and turn 360° around the same axis was adjusted to the rover; furthermore, a laser equipment, including a professional camera was equipped for exploration and sample testing uses. Solar panels were the main source of energy for the Rover-Copter, in which the panels charge the batteries. The material used for the whole Rover-Copter was Aluminium 7075, for the joints was AISI 1045, and for the propellers was epoxy carbon fibre. After achieving the objectives of the mission, the Rover-Copter passed the structural testing, however the Rover-Copter can be improved by using alternative type of energy such as hydrogen cells to charge faster, also use advanced materials and equipment for better sample testing and more advanced exploration trip
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Pages: 97-109