Abstract: During the lunar probe landing, the lander cushion firstly comes into contact with lunar soil. Therefore, the dynamic characteristics of the cushion are directly related to the safe landing of the detection equipment and the implementation of the subsequent operation. Considering the advantages and disadvantages of cushion shape for the study of landing process, a conical object to replace the actual cushion was chosen. The methods of experiment and discrete element numerical simulation were used. The effects of conical angle and impact energy of conical object during the impact process were studied by simulating the impact of conical object on lunar soil. The results obtained by discrete element simulation are consistent with the experiment. The results show that the impact energy is a major factor in the impact process. When conical objects with different conical angles are used, the impact depth and impact duration decrease with the increase of the conical angle, while the impact force peak gradually increase. In addition, the velocity vector of granular in the impact process was discussed, and the physical properties of granular medium under impact load were discussed from a microscopic perspective. Reference and factual basis are provided for the design of space lander. The above results also have certain reference value for the penetration detection of the lunar surface by special equipment.

Key words: simulated lunar soil, impact process, conical objects, velocity vector, discrete element method