As lunar exploration advances, the development of durable and sustainable lunar surface architecture is increasingly critical, with a particular focus on material selection and manufacturing processes. However, current technologies and designs have yet to deliver an optimal solution. This study presented an innovative designs pattern for laser-sintered lunar soil bricks, namely a sintered glass outer layer and a core composed of lunar soil particles. For structural reinforcement purposes, a combined system of columns and slabs was implemented to improve the overall strength characteristics. This approach leverages the low thermal conductivity of lunar regolith particles in conjunction with the thermal stability, radiation resistance, and mechanical strength characteristics of glass. In this case, our simulations of heat conduction demonstrated a marked improvement in the thermal insulation properties of the new lunar soil bricks. The low thermal conductivity of lunar regolith effectively serves as an insulating layer, while the column, plate and glass outer layer, with their higher thermal conductivity, enable rapid thermal response across the entire structure and enhance spatial heat transfer uniformity. We further investigated the influence of structural variations on heat transfer mechanisms, revealing that the thickness of the glass layer exclusively modulates the heat transfer rate without altering its spatial distribution. Additionally, comparative analysis of all designed samples demonstrated that the novel sample displays superior thermal insulation properties, reduces average energy consumption by three quarters, and maintains adequate mechanical strength, alongside the proposal of a suitable assembly and construction methodology. Consequently, we believe that glassy composites exhibit substantial potential for space construction. These findings offer valuable insights and recommendations for material design in lunar surface construction.

Smart weeding machine is an important tool for control of farmland weeds. To solve the high power consumption, low weeding rate, and high seedling damage rate of existing smart weeding machine in wheat fields, a power consumption model was established for the weed-soil- machine interactions process and a hob-type smart weeding machine of wheat fields was designed. The cutting-edge angle, roller radius, number of hob blades, and hob blade thickness were separately 20 degrees, 85 mm, 8, and 2 mm. A three-dimensional (3-d) structural model of the hob-type smart weeding machine was established on ProE and the operation process of the smart weeding machine's actuator was dynamically simulated in the discrete element method environment. On this basis, changes in performance indices including the operating width, operating depth, soil-throwing width, accumulation thickness, and average power consumption during the operation were investigated. Field tests of the hobtype smart weeding machine show that the operation width is 202.8 mm, which covers the inter-row area in wheat fields; the operation depth is 36 mm, at which roots of most weeds in wheat fields can be cut or pulled out; the soil-throwing width is 304.2 mm and the accumulation thickness is not higher than 20 mm, which is much lower than the height of wheat plants in the tillering stage. The average power during operation is 197.70 W, the weeding rate is 98.93 % and the seedling damage rate is 4.35 %. Compared to existing weeding machines reported, when the weed removal rates are similar, the power consumption of the weeding actuator developed in this study for wheat fields is reduced by approximately 54 %. On the premise of a comparable seedling damage rate, the weeding rate is increased by approximately 10 %, demonstrating notable characteristics of low power consumption and high efficiency.

To address the significant cutting resistance and fracture susceptibility of rotary blades, an innovative blade design was conceived to minimize resistance and enhance fracture resistance. By analyzing the interaction between the blade, soil, and root systems, an optimized design for the blade structure's breakage resistance was developed. The theory of eccentric circular side cutting edges was applied to redesign the curve of the side cutting edge, and kinematic analysis was conducted to determine the optimal edge angle (26.57 degrees). A flexible body model of corn residues was established, and cutting resistance measurements indicated a 15.1% reduction in cutting resistance. The breakage resistance of the rotary blade was validated using a discrete element method-finite element method (DEM-FEM) coupling approach. The results demonstrated the following: neck stress (-16.85%), specific strength efficiency (+9.72%), specific stiffness efficiency (+9.78%), fatigue life (+39.08%), and ultimate fracture stress (+20.16%), thereby meeting the design objectives. The comparison between field trial results and simulation data showed an error rate (<5%), confirming the simulation test's feasibility. These findings provide theoretical references for reducing cutting resistance and enhancing breakage resistance in rotary blades.