Mechanics of Impulse Force Reduction for Mitigating Truck Vibrations

Large capacity shovels generate high impact forces when loading dump trucks with over 100-ton passes. The impact forces generate high frequency shock waves, which cause severe truck vibrations, and thus, expose dump truck operators to high levels of whole body vibrations (WBV). So in this work, a rigorous mathematical model has been developed to capture the dynamic impact forces. Development of 3D virtual simulation model for a shovel dumping operation, have also been illustrated in this book, using discrete element modeling (DEM) techniques in PFC3D software. The model has been shown to capture the material dumping from a P&H 4100XPC shovel (100 tons per pass) into a CAT 793D truck. Development of MSC ADAMS simulation has also been provided in this book. Simulation results showed that a reduction of 19.61% in WBV exposure can be achieved if dumping height is optimized. This work is a pioneering effort to address the problems associated with the operator exposures to severe WBV levels and the models (mathematical and simulation) can now be used to analyze any HISLO operation to reduce or possibly eliminate WBV exposures and in turn enhance the operator's health and safety.