Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO)
Capabilities
- Two regolith test bins, one with 120 tons of BP-1 simulated extraterrestrial soil (25’x25′ area 3.5′ deep) and one with 2 tons of JSC-1a simulated extraterrestrial soil (calibrated dusty environment measurements, dusty mechanisms testing)
- Fine Particle Analyzer (FPA), sieves & shaker, and soil compressor.
- A complete complement of soil mechanical testers (proctor compactor, limit devices, vibration table with relative density set, triaxial shear tester, direct shear tester, consolidation tester, permeation cells).
- Rocket plume testers, penetrometers, coring devices, hand-held testers, ultrasonic bath, drying oven, several furnaces, wet/dry sieving, dehumidifier, microscopy, hydrometer test set, cameras, high speed camera, video graphic analysis, dust hood, sandblast hood,3.6Ghz Spectrum Analyzer and Millimeter Wave Doppler Radar for estimating dust ejecta velocity.
- Fanuc Industrial Robot
- UR10 robot arm
- Kuka Industrial Robot Arm
- 3D printers (3 Lulzbots, 3 Ultimakers).
- Multiple high end computer workstations with physics simulation software (PFC2D, PFC3D, EDEM, Mathematica, LabVIEW, custom software in Fortran, COMSOL with various add-ons).
- Rapid prototype capability including CNC router, 2 CNC mills, lathe, band saws and shop area.
- Collaboration space with large video wall, outdoor assembly area.
- Multiple cryogenic temperature dusty environmental chambers.
- State of the art actuator testing capabilities (down to 1 millitorr vacuum, 40 Kelvin temperatures, input and output feed throughs, over 300 Nm torque inputs, efficiency measurements through torque transducers, real-time tooth decay measurements)
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