Performance Evaluation of a Coring Drill Based on Three Classical Lunar Simulant Conditions

The performance of a core drill is the key to an entire sample task, and various working conditions are currently being studied. Using a grain size distribution method, three simulated lunar soils can be produced. Based on the positions of the critical particle and bit, new consumption and coring rate models are proposed. Four parameters of a rig were obtained in a lunar soil drilling simulation, including core rate, rotational power consumption, penetration, and drilling time. To conduct a rigorous evaluation of the performance of drilling under different working conditions, a criterion is proposed based on the drilling parameters. The result shows that the coring drill has a better performance at drilling rock in a soil working condition; however, it exhibits a weaker performance at drilling critical particle soil.