Bayesian Updating of Planetary Rover Wheel-Soil Contact Model

At present, most of existing contact models for sandy soils are based on Bekker′s theory. Bekker parameters are initially assessed through bevameter tests and subsequently used in the wheel-soil contact model. This strategy, although commonly accepted for practical reasons, disregards the substantial difference between bevameter plate-soil and wheel-soil contact scenario. In this paper an alternative procedure for wheel-soil contact model parameter estimation is presented. It makes use of bevameter tests along with single wheel experiments and integrates both experimental data within a Bayesian approach. The results of the Bayesian model updating are compared with those of a traditional updating procedure and bevameter measurements.