Soil Removing Structure utilizing Archimedean Screw for Lunar Exploration

Many scientists have developed excavation robots for investigation of the moon underground. Actually, excavation consists of propulsion, digging and soil removing. Soil removing has been not considered very well. This paper proposes the soil removing structure using Archimedean screw. It was confirmed by an experiment that Archimedean screw works on No.5 silica sand which is used to simulate lunar-regolith. When a motor connected to the screw was supplied 3V and the inclination of the screw was 20 deg, the screw pumped the maximum weight of sand. This means that the most efficient rotation speed and the inclination of the screw exists.