2022/07/27
3D printing of high-performance polymer composites for the lunar rover application
Polytechnique Montréal, École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), Université Laval, Agence spatiale canadienne (ASC), ArianeGroup, NanoXplore, Mekanic, Dyze Design (since 2018).
Objectives
To lower the total weight of the rover while keeping its high mechanical properties using hybrid fabrication processes.
To decrease the heat losses of the rover structure, preventing the internal electronics from reaching destructive cold temperatures during lunar nights.
Background
The main objective of our project is to design and manufacture a lightweight lunar rover through a collaborative project between an academic researchers from Polytechnique Montréal, École de Technologie Supérieure (ÉTS) and Université Laval, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and four industrial partners (ArianeGroup, NanoXplore, MËKANIC, and Dyze Design). To reach this goal, the team is working on different objectives such as material design, additive manufacturing (AM), numerical work to predict the mechanical and thermal behavior of the structures, induction welding to attach different parts of the lunar rover and finally assembly of different rover components. Our focus is on the additive manufacturing section of the project which aims to fabricate the sandwich panels with the desired cell distributions on a planar and non-planar surface to maintain the mechanical properties while lowering the overall rover weight.
The challenge
The harsh condition on the moon such as its temperature variation that can alter from more than 100 °C during the day to lower than -150 °C during nights which last for 14 days, requires systems that can tolerate and function in this temperature range. The body of the rover should be also sturdy enough to tolerate the weight of the components needed to be attached or carried during its cruising on the moon and also not to get damaged by the corrosive dust and sharp-edged rocks. One way to improve the mechanical properties of the rover structure is to add to the thickness of the body’s structure or to build it with stronger materials. The usual approaches to improve the mechanical properties of the rover body will lead to the addition of mass which results to a heavier rover that consumes more energy for its functions. The advanced composites offer high mechanical performance and using AM techniques allows us to even lower the weight by decreasing the amount of material where the applied forces are lower. On the other hand, the printability of advanced polymers and composites are still challenging mainly due to their high melting point.