Sampling cores requires the controlled breakoff of the core at a known location with respect to the drill end. An additional problem is designing a mechanism that can be implemented at a small scale, yet is robust and versatile enough to be used for a variety of core samples.

The Praying Mantis Core Breakoff Mechanism design assembly (left), and (right) the outer (green) and inner tubes (blue).
The new design consists of a set of tubes (a drill tube, an outer tube, and an inner tube) and means of sliding the inner and outer tubes axially relative to each other. Additionally, a sample tube can be housed inside the inner tube for storing the sample. The inner tube fits inside the outer tube, which fits inside the drill tube. The inner and outer tubes can move axially relative to each other. The inner tube presents two lamellae with two opposing grabbing teeth and one pushing tooth. The pushing tooth is offset axially from the grabbing teeth. The teeth can move radially and their motion is controlled by the outer tube. The outer tube presents two lamellae with radial extrusions to control the inner tube lamellae motion. In breaking the core, the mechanism creates two support points (the grabbing teeth and the bit tip) and one push point. The core is broken in bending. The grabbing teeth can also act as a core retention mechanism.

The praying mantis that is disclosed herein is an active core breaking/retention mechanism that requires only one additional actuator other than the drilling actuator. It can break cores that are attached to the borehole bottom as well as broken cores, and it also acts as a core retention device. The cores are broken at the bottom of the sample tube with a clean cut. The invention uses a core bending principle and does not induce additional axial load on the drill/robotic arm.

This invention is potentially applicable to sample return and in situ missions to planets such as Mars and Venus, moons such as Titan and Europa, and comets. It is also applicable to terrestrial applications like forensic sampling and geological sampling in the field.

This work was done by Mircea Badescu, Stewart Sherrit, Yoseph Bar-Cohen, Xiaoqi Bao, and Randel A. Lindemann of Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NPO-47356



This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).
Document cover
Praying Mantis Bending Core Breakoff and Retention Mechanism

(reference NPO-47356) is currently available for download from the TSP library.

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