Study on the Combined Underwater Tracked Vehicle System with a Rock Crushing Tool

Abstract

In this paper, an analysis on the design and mechanics of the underwater tracked vehicle (UTV) with a rock crusher (RC) tool for rock excavation has to be considered and performed. The objective of this paper is to analyze the mechanics of the UTV system that are affected by the RC force and torque for underwater rock cutting. For this, the forces and moments on the RC tool based on the analysis of the mechanics of the individual cutter tool are determined. Also, a mathematical expression is derived for the forces and moment of the combined UTV system with RC tool for rock excavation. For the design of the UTV system, the required tractive thrust and down thrust force were analysed, and the moment to the rotor carriage caused by the cutting system is studied. To support the validity of the analyses, a number of numerical simulations are performed using the derived equations.