Abstract：The safe landing of the lunar lander is an important guarantee for the safety of astronaut, carrying equipment and instrument, and follow-up work of the lander. In this study, a discrete element-finite element coupled model is established to analyze the interaction between the lunar soil and the lander. In this coupled model, the lunar soil is represented by the spherical discrete elements with a bonding function. The lander is constructed with the combined finite element model of shell elements and beam elements. Meanwhile, a compressible spring model is used for the supporting leg connected with the cushion to realize the buffer capacity. In order to analyze the process of landing on different lunar surfaces, different flat and sloped lunar surfaces are simulated and the interaction between the lander and the lunar soil in difference landing modes are studied. In addition, the relationship between impact of the peak size and the role of time is analyzed and the reasons for the small impact under high slope are discussed in terms of energy. This work provides a useful reference for a safe landing of the lunar lander.
2019, Vol. 40 
