Simulation and analysis of propulsive performance for screw propulsion inspection robot

Screw propulsion mechanism is a kind of special walking mechanism suitable for traveling on the loose terrain, with the characteristics of small grounding specific pressure, strong trafficability and small turning radius. Based on this, a screw-propelled inspection robot for sandy land is designed. To evaluate the propulsive performance of the robot, The DEM-MBD coupling method was used to analyze the influence law of rotary-screw propulsor blade diameter, tooth profile Angle, lead and spiral blade number on the propulsive performance of screw-propelled inspection robot. The results show that the rotary-screw propulsor with larger blade outer diameter has stronger propulsion speed and better directivity, while its stability gradually deteriorates. The rotary-screw propulsor with smaller tooth Angle has better propulsive ability and stability. For the rotary-screw propulsor with single helix, the driving ability becomes stronger with the increase of the lead, and the stability deteriorates exponentially. When the pitch is similar, the directivity and stability of double helix are better than that of single helix and triple helix. The research results provide basic data for the performance optimization of screw propulsion mechanism and have practical significance.