The traction characteristics of the grouser, cutting the simulative soil of deepsea sediment, with different tooth widths, tooth heights, and ground pressures are studied with traction characteristic test apparatus. A traction-displacement model is obtained by combining the analysis of the cutting mechanism. The results show that the tractiondisplacement curves of grousers with different tooth widths, tooth heights, and ground pressures have the same changing trend, which matches the Wong traction model. Their sensitivity coefficient and shear modulus are slightly fluctuated. Therefore, the average values can be used as the traction model parameters. The maximum traction of the grouser with a two-side edge and a 10 mm tooth width increment changing with the tooth height and ground pressure can be determined according to the grousers with different tooth widths. By combining the traction model parameters, the traction-displacement curve of the grouser with a certain group values of tooth width, tooth height, and ground pressure can be predicted. Therefore, the slip of the mining machine can be prevented to improve the mining efficiency.
Based on mineral component and in-situ vane shear strength of deep-sea sediment, four kinds of simulative soils were prepared by mixing different bentonites with water in order to find the best simulative soil for the deep-sea sediment collected from the Pacific C-C area. Shear creep characteristics of the simulative soil were studied by shear creep test and shear creep parameters were determined by Burgers creep model. Research results show that the shear creep curves of the simulative soil can be divided into transient creep, unstable creep and stable creep, where the unstable creep stage is very short due to its high water content. The shear creep parameters increase with compressive stress and change slightly or fluctuate to approach a constant value with shear stress, and thus average creep parameters under the same compressive stress are used as the creep parameters of the simulative soil. Traction of the deep-sea mining machine walking at a constant velocity can be calculated by the shear creep constitutive equation of the deep-sea simulative soil, which provides a theoretical basis for safe operation and optimal design of the deep-sea mining machine.
The traction capacity of the mining machine is greatly in?uenced by the traction rheological properties of the deep-sea sediments. The best simulative soil was prepared for substituting the deep-sea sediment based on the deep-sea sediment collected from the Paci?c C-C mining area. Traction rheological properties of the simulative soil were studied by a home-made test apparatus. In order to accurately describe the traction rheological properties and determine traction rheological parameters, the Newtonian dashpot in Maxwell body of Burgers model was replaced by a self-similarity spring-dashpot fractance and a new rheological constitutive model was deduced by fractional derivative theory. The results show the simulative soil has obvious non-attenuate rheological properties. The transient creep and stable creep rate increase with the traction, but they decrease with ground pressure. The fractional derivative Burgers model are better in describing non-attenuate rheological properties of the simulative soil than the classical Burgers model. For the new traction rheological constitutive equation of the simulative soil, the traction rheological parameters can be obtained by ?tting the tested traction creep data with the traction creep constitutive equation. The ground contact length of track and walking velocity of the mining machine predicted by the traction rheological constitutive equation can be used to take full advantages of the maximum traction provided by the soil and safely improve mining effciency.
