International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology E-ISSN 2277 – 4106, P-ISSN 2347 – 5161

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Research Article

Design and Optimization of Lightweight and HSD Excavator Bucket

with Uncertain Load
Mohammed Mehimed Omar HepaȦ*
ADepartment of Mechanical engineering, Faculty of Technical Science- Sebha, Libya

Received 25 Feb 2021, Accepted 15 April 2021, Available online 17 April 2021, Vol.11, No.2 (March/April 2021)

Abstract

Excavators are used primarily to excavate below the natural surface of the ground on which the machine rests and
load it into trucks or tractor. Due to severe working conditions, excavator parts are subjected to high loads. The
excavator mechanism must work reliably under unpredictable working conditions. Thus, it is very much necessary for
the designers to provide not only a equipment of maximum reliability but also of minimum weight and cost, keeping
design. safe under all loading conditions weight and cost, keeping design safe under all loading conditions. It can be
concluded that, force analysis and strength analysis is an important step in the design of excavator parts. This paper
presents a methodology for lightweight and high-strength design of an excavator bucket under uncertain loading.
Uncertain loads are obtained by using the Monte Carlo simulation based on the existing soil-bucket interaction model
in which the soil parameters are variable. And the well-known 3-sigma methodology is used for the quantification of
the uncertain loads. Excavator bucket modelling is finished by using ANSYS Parameter Design Language (APDL). A
multi-objective optimization model aiming to decrease the maximum von Mises stress and to reduce the weight of the
bucket is established on the foundations of the uncertain load and the parametric geometry model. The structural
shape and topology of the bucket are then designed by using the mixed variable genetic algorithm to solve the
established optimization problem. The results show that the presented method can be effectively and efficiently
applied for the optimization design of the excavator bucket and that the optimized bucket signifies obvious decreases
in the weight and the stress compared with the initial reference model. The proposed methodology for structure
optimization design considering uncertain loads not only provides the technical means for the design and
development of high-performance bucket but also lays a preliminary theoretical foundation for the optimization
design integrated machine-environment interaction.

Keywords: Monte Carlo simulator, High strength design Ansys parameter design language, digging force

Introduction
Bucket is used for trenching, in the placement of pipe
and other under-ground utilities, digging basements or
In the era of globalization and tough competition the
water retention ponds, maintaining slopes and mass
use of machines is increasing for the earth moving
excavation. Due to severe working conditions,
works, considerable attention has been focused on
excavator parts are subject to corrosive effects and
designing of the earth moving equipment’s. Today
high loads. The excavator mechanism must work
hydraulic excavators are widely used in construction,
reliably under unpredictable working conditions.
mining, excavation, and forestry applications.
Structure optimization design based on the
Hydraulic excavators also called diggers. There are
deterministic knowledge and ignoring the machine-
many variations in hydraulic excavators. They may be
environment interaction is unable to satisfy the
either crawler or rubber-tire-carrier-mounted, and
requirements on the high service performance and
there are many different operating attachments. With
complex working condition of modern engineering
the options in types, attachments, and sizes of
structures. The digging operation using an excavator
machines, there are differences in appropriate
bucket is a typical and complex soil-bucket interaction
applications and therefore variations in economic
process, in which the loads acting on the bucket are
advantages. Excavator digs, elevates, swings and
uncertain and the stresses in the bucket material are
dumps material by the action of its mechanism, which
variable due to a constantly changing environment.
consists of boom, arm, bucket and hydraulic cylinders.
The traditional deterministic design method takes no
*Corresponding author’s ORCID ID:0000-0002-9871-2908 account of these uncertainties in loading condition and
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14741/ijcet/v.11.2.13 calculates the design loads under limiting working
222| International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.11, No.2 (March/April 2021)
Mohammed Mehimed Omar Hepa Design and Optimization of Lightweight and HSD Excavator Bucket with Uncertain Load

condition according to the theoretical or empirical load design and do not allow for uncertainties inherent in
model. Thus, the high-strength structures are designed the load model parameters. So far, the related research
at the expense of increased structure weight. However, integrating the uncertain resistive force model into the
from the perspectives of saving material and energy bucket structure optimization design framework has
and prolonging service life, a lightweight and high- not been reported. On the aspect of structure design,
strength bucket structure is generally expected. Qiu et al . conducted the optimal design of an
Fortunately, the probability theory and statistical excavator’s working device including the boom, stick,
principle provide a sound mean to treat the and bucket based on multiple surrogate models. The
uncertainties during the digging process. Furthermore, work of Qiu et al . still belongs to the field of ultimate
multi-objective optimization design with the strength design. Rusinski et al . conducted the research
consideration of uncertainties in loads has the on the investigation and modernization of buckets of
potential to achieve the high-performance metrics of surface mining machines and presented an approach to
the bucket structure. consider the test results in real mining conditions as
Based on the afore mentioned background, the well as the numerical analysis results of modern
main aim of this research is to find an approach to treat numerical tools that support the bucket structure
the uncertainties in loads during the digging process design in the process of bucket structure optimization.
and further to use this approach to guide the structure The existing research on the bucket structure design
optimization design. Many soil-bucket interactions mainly focus on ultimate strength design based on the
models have been established (E. Rusinski,et al 2015). deterministic limiting loads. In order to achieve a
All these models provide the corresponding lumped- satisfactory trade-off between the weight and strength
parameter functions to calculate the resistive force. of a bucket, it is necessary to conduct a profound study
More importantly, these lumped-parameter models lay on the uncertainty optimization design of the bucket
a solid foundation for online soil-bucket interaction structure with the consideration of uncertainties in the
identification (Z. Zou et al, 2019), resistive force soil-bucket interaction process.
prediction based on learning method digging process This paper takes the soil-bucket interaction into
simulation and development of virtual excavation consideration during the process of bucket
simulator as well as dynamic motion planning for optimization design. Uncertainties inherent in soil
autonomous excavation. An accurate and reliable soil- parameters are represented by using the Monte Carlo
bucket interaction model used to calculate the design method to simulate the random distribution
loads is the prerequisite for the effective and credible characteristics of parameters in uncertain intervals.
optimization design of a bucket. Unfortunately, it is The existing Park’s soil-bucket model (S. Singh et al ,
difficult to realistically model the soil-bucket 1995) is extended to be used in uncertain condition.
interaction due to the complexity of geometric shape of Furthermore, to quantify the uncertainty of the
the bucket and the uncertainty of interaction resistive forces acting on the bucket and obtain the
mechanism. Uncertainties in the soil parameters design load indicators with a relatively great possibility
included in the models still cannot be eliminated, even and low computational cost, the 3-sigma methodology
if the well-known existing models are used to estimate which has been widely used in robust design
the resistive forces. Among all previous works, optimization of engineering structure is introduced to
resistive force prediction based on online learning can define the level of load dispersion and determine the
identify and modify the model, but it is very time design loads. An excavator bucket model with complex
consuming and unsuitable for structure optimization. geometrical configuration is parametrically
The existing digging simulation framework can only be represented and modelled by using APDL so as to
used to generate deterministic load profiles for achieve design automation and integration with a
structure analysis and design. Some works provide the variety of industrial software products. Finally, a
methods to determine the maximum theoretical framework for the lightweight and high-strength
digging forces which the excavator can apply directions design of an excavator bucket with the integration of
of the bucket force space. To quantify the uncertainty uncertain soil-bucket interaction model is developed.
in digging resistance, the most probable direction The implementation of this optimization framework
interval of digging resistance based on the into the established multi-objective optimization of an
experimental results and proposed a set of excavator bucket is also shown.
performance measures to characterize the digging
performance of an excavator in this most probable Soil-Bucket Interaction Modelling
interval. It is worth noting that these methods are used
to assess an excavator’s digging capability from the The digging process is affected by many variable
perspective of the driving side of the excavator. Thus, factors, such as rough and changing terrains, uncertain
the digging capability metric calculated by using these soil properties, complex geometric shape of the bucket,
methods is a theoretical limiting force and can only be and different operation styles used by operators who
used as a limiting load for the ultimate strength design have different operating preferences and experiences.
of excavator structure. That is to say, these traditional Therefore, it is difficult to establish a comprehensive
methods only support relatively conservative structure and accurate theoretical model of the excavator digging
223| International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.11, No.2 (March/April 2021)
Mohammed Mehimed Omar Hepa Design and Optimization of Lightweight and HSD Excavator Bucket with Uncertain Load

process that can realistically reflect the soil-bucket Plates and cutting plate on the soil-bucket interaction
interaction mechanism. To obtain the information of can be analyzed and modelled individually and then
variability in operation, uncertainty in soil properties, added to the resultant resistance force by solving the
and fluctuations in environment, and further to achieve limit equilibrium equations of the 3D soil failure
human-machine-environment fusion, some external wedge. Resistance model adding the influences of
detection apparatus (transducers, radar detectors, and bucket shape can be used to determine the design
cameras) have been widely used in autonomous loads in the process of bucket structure design.
excavation. However, during the design phase, all this
uncertain information cannot be obtained; thus, a Soil-Bucket Interaction Model
model that can be used to realistically simulate the
digging process is essential for determination of design In Park’s resistance model, the soil rupture surface is
loads of bucket design. Traditional theoretical digging assumed as a flat shape and the separated soil body is
forces are defined as the forces generated at the bucket considered as an idealized failure wedge, as shown in
lip or cutting edge when operating the bucket or stick Figure 2. illustrates the soil failure wedge and all the
cylinders independently, as shown in Figure 1. The forces acting on its surfaces. Among all constitutive
traditional bucket digging force and stick digging force surfaces, the surfaces acfd and bcfe, respectively,
are calculated by taking into consideration hydraulic represent the terrain surface and the failure surface,
pressure limit and excavator stability limits including the surface abed is the contact surface between the
tipping and slipping limits. Since the soil-bucket bucket cutting plate and soil failure wedge, and the
interaction relationship is oversimplified in the surfaces abc and def are the side rupture surfaces.
traditional method, it cannot be used to guide the Figure 2 illustrates a bucket sketch, in which the
detailed design of the bucket structure. Among all surfaces abg and deh are both the contact surfaces
developed soil-bucket interaction models, Park’s between the soil failure wedge and the side plates of
resistance model (S. Singh et al , 1995) is selected in the bucket. In this resistance model, the force
this research as the basic model to predict the soil components acting on the wedge are completely
resistive forces. Park’s model (S. Singh et al , 1995) is considered. ese force components include the cohesion
better suited to simulate the soil-bucket interaction for force CF1 acting on the failure surface bcfe, the
the following reasons. frictional forces SF1 and SF2, respectively, acting on
the surface bcfe and the side rupture surfaces abc and
1.It is a 3D analytical resistance model extended based def, the adhesion force Fad acting on the contact
on Perumpral’s model, whose soil failure model is close surface abed, the adhesion-cohesion force ACF acting
to 3D soil failure geometries. on the two side rupture surfaces, and the gravitational
2. It incorporates the excavator bucket shape. The force W and the surcharge Q. All factors which have
influences of a bucket’s constitutive parts such as two effects on the resistive force are considered except for
side plates and cutting plate on the soil-bucket the inertia force compared with the previous
interaction can be analysed and modelled individually resistance model when digging speed is low or not
and then added to the resultant resistance force by considered. In addition, the forces FN and Fr2 are the
solving the limit equilibrium equations of the 3D soil normal forces, respectively, acting on the failure
failure wedge. Resistance model adding the influences surface □bcfe and the contact surface abed, and the
of bucket shape can be used to determine the design force RS is the resistive force acting on the contact
loads in the process of bucket structure design. force abed. The resistive force RS can be solved by
conducting the static equilibrium analysis for the soil
failure wedge, as follows:

𝑅𝑆 = 𝐹𝑎𝑑. 𝐶𝑜𝑠(𝛽 + 𝜌 + Ø) + (𝑊 + 𝑄). 𝑆𝑖𝑛(ɑ + 𝜌 +

Ø) + 𝑆𝑓2 + 2𝐴𝐶𝐹 + 𝐶𝐹1). 𝐶𝑜𝑠Ø/𝑆𝑖𝑛(𝛽 + 𝜌 + 𝛿 +
Ø)…eq1

where α is the slope angle of the terrain surface, β is

the angle between the cutting plate and the terrain
surface, ρ is the soil failure angle, and δ and ∅ are,
respectively, the soil-metal friction angle and soil
internal friction angle. In equation (1), all the
individual force components have the same
representations with the corresponding terms in
Park’s model except for the term Q representing the
surcharge. For the sake of simplification, similar terms
will not be listed in this research. The surcharge Q is
determined by the volume of the soil swept by the
Fig 1.0: Theoretical digging forces bucket, and its representation is written as.
224| International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.11, No.2 (March/April 2021)
Mohammed Mehimed Omar Hepa Design and Optimization of Lightweight and HSD Excavator Bucket with Uncertain Load

𝑄 = 𝑟. 𝑔. 𝑉𝑆 … … … … … … 𝑒𝑞2

where r is the soil density, g is the gravitational

acceleration, and VS is the volume of the soil swept by
the bucket.

Figure 3.0: Solid bucket model using APDL.

Figure 2.0: Soil-Bucket Interaction model Bucket To investigate the relations of the structure stress and
sketch. the loads based on the parametric bucket model, finite
element analysis (FEA) under a series of deterministic
According to the action and reaction relations of all
force components, the forces acting on the bucket are load groups is conducted. As shown in Figure 3, joints
also given in Figure 2 the forces acting on the bucket A and B are the hinge points connecting the stick and
cutting plate include the adhesion force F ad and the bucket; thus, their axial degrees are fixed, and the rest
resistive force RS, and the side plates of the bucket of degrees are released. It is assumed that all the force
encountered the adhesion force Fad1 and the normal components acting on the bucket (as shown in Figure
force Fr. The expression of the resistive force RS has
2) are distributed uniformly on the corresponding
been given in equation (1).
contact surfaces between the soil and bucket. That is to
Static Strength Analysis of Excavator Bucket say, all the forces are applied to the corresponding
acting surfaces in the form of pressures. Figure 4
Figure 6 shows the schematic diagrams of the bucket. shows the variation of the maximum structure stress
In Figure 6, ti(i=1, 2,…..5) represent the thickness 𝑆𝑚𝑎𝑥 for the forces acting on the bucket. There are the
parameters of the constitutive plates of the bucket, analysis results of 8 groups of deterministic load cases.
li(i=1,2,…..12) represent the length parameters,𝜃𝑖(𝑖 =
In Figure 4, LG1∼LG8 are the labels of the load cases. It
1,2, … 3) are the angle parameters, 𝑟1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟2 are the
radius parameters of the arc plates. Optimization is obtained that the larger resistive loads will result in
process of the bucket involves design automation, the larger maximum structure stress. It can also be
integration of multiple industrial software products, summarized that the resistive force is the major
and data exchange of different software products; thus, component influencing the magnitude of the maximum
APDL is used for parametric geometry modelling of the structure stress. The load group LG8 with the
bucket. APDL command flow has good portability and maximum digging depth and digging angle is listed in
benefits structure reanalysis, so it is suitable for the
Table 2, and the FEA results under this load condition
optimization design of the complex bucket structure.
the solid bucket model obtained by using APDL. Table are given in The maximum stress of the bucket
3 lists material properties of the bucket structure exceeds the yielding stress according to the
analysis results; thus, plastic deformation will occur on
the bucket. Improved design of the bucket can enhance
the structure strength.

Table 1.0: Material properties of the bucket

Youngs’s Yielding
Density Poission’s
Material modulus stress
(kg/m3) ratio
(MPa) (MPa)
Figure 3.0: Schematic diagrams of the bucket ST345 8.05×103 0.4 2.26×103 348
225| International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.11, No.2 (March/April 2021)
Mohammed Mehimed Omar Hepa Design and Optimization of Lightweight and HSD Excavator Bucket with Uncertain Load

The established geometry model using APDL in this

section provides a solid foundation for the
optimization design of an excavator bucket. In addition,
it is validated that the maximum structure stress and
the loads acting on the bucket are positive correction.
This further verifies that it is rational to use the upper
limits μ + 3σ of the loads acting on the bucket with the
maximum digging depth and digging angle as the
design loads.

Conclusion

The FEA and optimization is versatile tool for designing

the backhoe attachment in Lightweight and HSD
excavator. To carry out the modeling and FE analysis of
an excavator, various software used by researchers like
ANSYS, MATLAB, ADPL etc. according to their ease of
Figure 4.0: The relations of structure stress and loads. user friendliness and accuracy of results. In this paper,
a framework to achieve high-strength and lightweight
Table 2.0: Deterministic loads with the maximum optimization design of the bucket under uncertain
digging depth and digging angle (LG8). loading is introduced. A new design approach that can
achieve good trade-off between the bucket weight and
Adhesion Adhesion
structure stress is also given. Since the novel method
Load Resistive Normal takes uncertainties inherent in the soil-bucket
Force Fad1 Force
Name Force Force(kN)
(kN) Fad(kN) interaction model into account and uses 3-sigma
Value 265.850 1.219 3.450 0.40 methodology to quantify these uncertainties, it can
ensure the optimized bucket has good working
performance even if the working environment is
variable and uncertain. The results of the supplied
example also show that the optimized bucket has
higher strength and lighter weight under uncertain
loading. In the future work, the proposed framework
will be used to develop a new bucket. Furthermore, the
framework which can be used for the uncertain
optimization design of the working attachment
including the boom, stick, and bucket will be
developed.

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