Determination of the Underwater Walking Robotic Mini Dredger Loading Capacity by the Finite Element Modeling

Mini-dredges moving along the bottom have a number of significant advantages compared to their floating counterparts. The work examines walking mini-dredgers moving along the bottom with a high level of control autonomy. A walking mover, in comparison with tracked and wheeled ones, has higher capabilities for ground and profile cross-country ability. It can also provide higher traction properties in underwater conditions. At the same time, the walking method of movement requires increased energy consumption. They are mainly due to high energy costs to overcome inertial forces during acceleration and braking of the legs in each cycle (step) of movement. Therefore, when developing walking device, they strive to reduce the weight of the legs, which affects their strength and limits the load-carrying capacity of the walking apparatus. There is no method for calculating the carrying capacity of walking machines yet. The paper describes the principle of determining the carrying capacity of a walking device using the finite element method. To determine the carrying capacity, the task of loading the frame of the walking device was solved. The markup of the model was done manually with hexagonal elements. An iterative method was used to obtain the load at which the walking mechanism satisfies the strength condition of the structural material of this mechanism.