machine design, Vol.4(2012) No.1, ISSN 1821-1259 pp.

59-66

*Correspondence Authors Address: Mechanical Engineering Department, U. V. Patel College of Engineering, Ganpat University,
Kherva-384012, Dist. Mehsana, State-Gujarat, India, bppmech@gmail.com


Research paper

EVALUATION OF BUCKET CAPACITY, DIGGING FORCE CALCULATIONS AND STATIC
FORCE ANALYSIS OF MINI HYDRAULIC BACKHOE EXCAVATOR

Bhaveshkumar P. PATEL
1, *
- Jagdish M. PRAJAPATI
2


1
JJT University, Research Scholar, Mechanical Engineering Department, Chudela, Dist. Jhunjhunu-333001, Rajasthan, India
2
M. S. University of Baroda, Associate Professor, Faculty of Technology and Engineering, Vadodara - 390002, Gujarat, India


Received (01.03.2012); Revised (16.03.2012); Accepted (19.03.2012)

Abstract: Rapidly growing rate of industry of earth moving machines is assured through the high performance
construction machineries with complex mechanism and automation of construction activity. Design of backhoe link
mechanism is critical task in context of digging force developed through actuators during the digging operation. The
digging forces developed by actuators must be greater than that of the resistive forces offered by the terrain to be
excavated. This paper focuses on the evaluation method of bucket capacity and digging forces required to dig the
terrain for light duty construction work. This method provides the prediction of digging forces and can be applied for
autonomous operation of excavation task. The evaluated digging forces can be used as boundary condition and loading
conditions to carry out Finite Element Analysis of the backhoe mechanism for strength and stress analysis. A
generalized breakout force and digging force model also developed using the fundamentals of kinematics of backhoe
mechanism in context of robotics. An analytical approach provided for static force analysis of mini hydraulic backhoe
excavator attachment.

Key words: Digging Forces, Autonomous Excavation, Resistive forces, Heaped capacity

1. INTRODUCTION

Applications for backhoe excavator in India include use
as a utility machine at large construction sites (roads and
dams for example) and urban infrastructure projects as
well as the loading of hoppers and trucks, trenching, the
cleaning of canals and ditches, general excavation, solid
waste management and even demolition and mining work.
However, the backhoe loader, with over 70 per cent of its
usage being in excavating tasks, is most frequently used
as a production machine as opposed to a utility machine
in other parts of the world [3]. An excavator is an
engineering vehicle consisting of a backhoe with cabin for
the operator and wheeled or tracked system for movement
and engine is used for power generation. Hydraulic
system is used for operation of the machine while digging
or moving the material. Excavation is of prime
importance in mining, earth removal and general
earthworks. Hydraulic cylinders apply forces to boom,
arm and the bucket to actuate the mechanism. Depending
on the mechanism position, working pressure and
diameter of the hydraulic cylinders, the amount of
excavation force changes. In practice, boom cylinders are
used for adjusting the bucket position not for digging.
They may be used for lifting purpose. While arm and
bucket cylinder is used for excavation. Thus, calculation
of breakout or digging force must be carried out
separately when arm or bucket cylinder is the active
cylinder [2]. The maximum digging forces are the digging
forces that can be exerted at the outermost cutting point.
These forces are calculated by applying working circuit
pressure to the cylinder(s) providing the digging force
without exceeding holding circuit pressure in any other
circuit. Weight of components and friction are to be
excluded from these force calculations [6].

2. PROBLEM FORMULATION

In the era of globalization and tough competition, the use
of machines is increasing for the earth moving works;
considerable attention has been focused on designing of
the earth moving equipments. 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 [2]. Although excavation is ubiquitous in the
construction industry, most day-to-day operations proceed
on technology that is decades old technology that has
not kept pace with other industries. A recent trend
towards greater automation of excavation machines
reflects a larger movement in the construction industry to
improve efficiency. Currently, human operators require
ten to fifteen years of experience before they can be
considered experts. Their work is often dirty, strenuous
and repetitive [5]. Autonomous excavation has attracted
interest because of the potential for increased productivity
and lower labor costs. This research concerns the problem
of automating a hydraulic excavator for mass excavation,
where tons of earth are excavated and loaded into trucks.
This application is commonly found in many construction
and mining scenarios. In such applications, fast
operational speed of these machines is desired, because it
directly translates to increased productivity. Much of the
prior research in autonomous excavation has focused on
digging and related topics such as soil modeling and
bucket-soil force interactions. Only a few researchers
Bhaveshkumar P. Patel, Jagdish M. Prajapati: Evaluation of Bucket Capacity, Digging Force Calculations and Static Force Analysis of Mini
Hydraulic Backhoe Excavator, Machine Design, Vol.4(2012) No.1, ISSN 1821-1259; pp. 59-66

60
have looked into the free motion planning problem within
the context of the mass excavation task. Also, much of the
autonomous excavation research has concentrated on
functionality, where simply digging a full bucket of
material is good enough [4]. To perform an excavation
task it is necessary that the digging forces produces by
actuators must be higher than that of the resistive forces
offered by the terrain. For autonomous excavation task it
is very important to evaluate the digging forces. The
presented research work is on the evaluation of digging
forces, which are according to standards of SAE. In
addition, a generalized digging force model developed
based on fundamentals of kinematics of backhoe
excavator attachment in context of robotics which can be
use as a boundary condition (time varying or dynamic) to
carry out the dynamic finite element analysis of the
proposed backhoe excavator. Moreover; static force
analysis carried out by considering the maximum
breakout force condition and static force analysis done for
the different parts of the backhoe excavator and can be
taken as boundary conditions for static FEA.

3. BUCKET CAPACITY CALCULATION

Bucket capacity is a measure of the maximum volume of
the material that can be accommodated inside the bucket
of the backhoe excavator. Bucket capacity can be either
measured in struck capacity or heaped capacity. Globally
two standards used to determine the heaped capacity, are:
(i) SAE J296: Mini excavator and backhoe bucket
volumetric rating, an American standard (ii) CECE
(Committee of European Construction Equipment)
section VI, a European standard [2]. The struck capacity
directly measured from the 3D model of the backhoe
bucket excavator for our case as shown in Fig.1 by
following the SAE J296 standards [2]. As can be seen
from the left side of the Fig. 1, P
Area
is the area bounded by
struck plane (blue line) and side protector (red curve), and it
is 66836 mm
2
.



Fig.1. Parameters of the proposed 3D bucket model to
calculate the bucket capacity

As can be seen from Fig. 1 the heaped capacity v
h
can be
given as:

v
h
= v
s
+v
c
(1)

Where, v
s
is the struck capacity, and v
c
is the excess
material capacity heaped. Struck capacity v
s
can be
calculated from Fig. 1 as:

v
s
= P
Arca
[
(W
I
+W

)
2
= u.u2u72 m
3
(2)

Excess material capacity v
c
for angle of repose 1:1 can be
calculated from Fig. 1 as:

v
c
= [
L
E
W
I
2
4
-
W
I
3
12
= u.uu7u9 m
3
(3)

By using equations (1), (2), and (3) the bucket capacity for
the proposed 3D backhoe bucket model comes out to be
0.02781 m
3
= 0.028 m
3
.

4. DIGGING FORCES

Bucket penetration into a material is achieved by the bucket
curling force (F
B
) and arm crowd force (F
S
). The rating of
these digging forces is set by SAE J1179 standard
Hydraulic Excavator and Backhoe: Digging Forces [6].
These rated digging forces are the forces that can be exerted
at the outermost cutting point (that is the tip of the bucket
teeth). These forces can be calculated by applying working
relief hydraulic pressure to the cylinders providing the
digging force.


Fig.2. Determination of digging forces

Fig. 2 shows the measurement of bucket curling force F
B
,
arm crowd force F
S
, the other terms in the figure d
A
, d
B
,
d
C
, d
D
, d
D
1
, d
E
, and d
F
shows the distances as shown in
Fig. 2. According to SAE J1179: Maximum radial tooth
force due to bucket cylinder (bucket curling force) F
B
is
the digging force generated by the bucket cylinder and
tangent to the arc of radius d
D
1
.

F
B
=
p(

4
, )D
E
2
d
D
[
d
A
d
C
d
E
(4)

Where D
B
is the end diameter of the bucket cylinder in
(mm) and the working pressure is p in MPa or N/mm
2
and
other distances are in mm and remains constant. Equation
(4) determines the value of the bucket curl or breakout
force in N. Now let us determine the maximum radial
tooth force due to arm cylinder F
S
. Maximum tooth force
due to arm cylinder is the digging force generated by the
arm cylinder and tangent to arc of radius d
F
.

F
S
=
p(

4
, )D
A
2
d
E
d
F
(5)

Where, d
F
is the sum of bucket tip radius (d
D
) and the arm
link length in mm, and D
A
is the end diameter of the arm
cylinder in mm. When the assembly of proposed 3D
model is placed in the maximum breakout force
Bhaveshkumar P. Patel, Jagdish M. Prajapati: Evaluation of Bucket Capacity, Digging Force Calculations and Static Force Analysis of Mini
Hydraulic Backhoe Excavator, Machine Design, Vol.4(2012) No.1, ISSN 1821-1259; pp. 59-66


61
configuration as shown in Fig. 4, it holds the values of
the parameters as: d
A
= 257 mm, d
B
= 220 mm, d
C
= 181
mm, d
D
= 547 mm, d
E
= 285 mm, and d
F
= (547 + 723) =
1270 mm. The working pressure p = 157 bar or 15.7 MPa,
D
A
= D
B
= 40 mm. So by using equations (4) and (5) the
calculated bucket curl or breakout force F
B
= 7626.25 N =
7.626 KN, and calculated arm crowd force or digging
force F
S
= 4427.419 N = 4.427 KN.
The combination of the backhoe excavators arm crowd
force F
S
and bucket curling force F
B
give this machine
configuration more effective bucket penetration force per
mm of bucket cutting edge than is available with other
machine types such as wheel and track loaders. As a
result of high penetration force, a backhoe excavator
bucket is comparatively easy to load. Also, the higher unit
breakout forces allow the backhoe excavators economic
application range to be extended further into the tougher
soils (coral, shale, limestone) before blasting or ripping is
required. Maximum resistive force offered by the ground
for the proposed tool dimensions is 3916.7 N [1], and the
breakout force calculated is 7626 N which is higher than
the force required to cut the soil (3916.7 N), thus this
calculated breakout force is adequate and accepted for the
job to be performed by the proposed mini backhoe
excavator i.e. light duty construction work.
The SAE J1179 standard provides the bucket curling force
F
B
, and arm crowd force F
S
, only for the position of the
maximum breakout force condition as stated in standards,
which is helpful for static analysis, but for autonomous
application it is important to know the digging forces
generated during the entire digging operation. During the
digging operation the digging forces may vary with
respect to the position of the bucket configuration
therefore it is necessary to develop a generalized breakout
and digging force model for digging operation which can
provide the breakout and digging forces for all positions
of the bucket configurations, this can be helpful for better
controlling of the autonomous digging operation.

5. DEVELOPMENT OF GENERALIZED
BREAKOUT AND DIGGING FORCE
MODEL

Hydraulic cylinders apply force to boom, arm and the
bucket to actuate the mechanism. Depending on the
mechanism position, working pressure and diameter of
the hydraulic cylinders, the amount of excavation force
changes. In practice, boom cylinders are used for
adjusting the bucket position not for digging. Arm
cylinder and bucket cylinder are used for excavating.
Thus, calculation of digging force must be carried out
separately when arm cylinder or bucket cylinder is the
active cylinder.

5.1. Force calculation when the arm cylinder is
active

Force created by the arm cylinder A
7
A
8
(length of the arm
cylinder) F
A

A
8
can be found by using its end cylinder
diameter and working pressure as described in the
previous section.

F
A

A
8
= p (

4
, )B
A
2
(6)

As can be seen from the Fig. 3 the digging force from the
arm cylinder F
Arm
(acting on the teeth of the bucket in the
tangential direction of A
2
A
4
radius) will be the moment
created by the arm cylinder M
Arm
divided by the distance
A
2
A
4
. This leads to;

F
Arm
=
M
Am
A
2
A
4
(7)

This is because while excavating, firstly the X
3
- and the
X
4
- axes are made collinear (i.e. A
2
, A
3
, and A
4
points are
collinear points), then the bucket is made to contact with
the ground and curled inwards. While arm cylinder is only
active the bucket is made curling inward from the point
A
2
to point A
4
. Now moment created on arm M
Arm
will be
the product of the force created by the arm cylinder F
A

A
8

and the perpendicular distance to the cylinder, so M
Arm

can be given by;

N
Arm
= (A
2
A
8
) sin(zA
7
A
8
A
2
) F
A

A
8
(8)

Now in equation (8) the distance A
2
A
8
is fixed from the
geometry of the backhoe excavator as shown in Fig. 3,
and the arm cylinder force F
A

A
8
can be determined from
equation (6), now the only unknown remained is the
zA
7
A
8
A
2
=
1
. From the cosine rule applied to the
triangle A
7
A
8
A
2
the angle
1
can be given by;

1
=tan
-1
_
{4(A

A
8
)
2
(A
2
A
8
)
2
-|(A

A
8
)
2
+(A
2
A
8
)
2
-(A
2
A

)
2
]
2
]
1
2
,
(A

A
8
)
2
+(A
2
A
8
)
2
-(A
2
A

)
2
_ (9)

The length of the piston rod in the arm cylinder A
7
A
8
can
be determined either from the sensors (in case of
autonomous backhoe operations) or from the joint angle

3
from kinematic equation as:

(A
7
A
8
)
2
= (A
2
A
7
)
2
+(A
2
A
8
)
2
- 2(A
2
A
7
)(A
2
A
8
) cos(S -

1
-
2
-
3
) (10)

Where, A
1
A
2
A
7
=
1
, and A
8
A
2
A
3
=
2
are constant for
the geometry of boom and arm respectively as shown in Fig.
3. By using equations (9) and (10), the moment M
Arm
can be
determined from equation (8). Now let us determine the
length A
2
A
4
. If the cosine rule is applied to the A
2
A
3
A
4

one yields;

(A
2
A
4
)
2
=
(A
2
A
3
)
2
+(A
3
A
4
)
2
-2(A
2
A
3
)(A
3
A
4
) cos(
4
-) (11)

In equation (11) all terms are known except the joint 4 angle

4
. This can be determining from kinematic equation, if the
length of the piston rod in the bucket cylinder A
9
A
10
is
known.

1
= 2 -
1
- tan
-1
_
]4 (A
9
A
12
)
2
(A
1u
A
12
)
2
-|(A
9
A
12
)
2
+(A
1u
A
12
)
2
-(A
9
A
1u
)
2
]
2

1
2
,
|(A
9
A
12
)
2
+(A
1u
A
12
)
2
-(A
9
A
1u
)
2
]
_ (12)

Where
1
= the major A
9
A
12
A
3
and it is constant and thus
known for us. From equation (12)
1
can be determined.
Now by putting this value of
1
into the following equation
(13) will give the value of
2
(rest of the terms are known).

(A
3
A
12
)
2
+(A
10
A
12
)
2
-2(A
3
A
12
)(A
10
A
12
) cos(
1
) =
(A
3
A
11
)
2
+(A
10
A
11
)
2
-2(A
3
A
11
)(A
10
A
11
) cos(
2
) (13)

By putting these two values of
1
,
2
, A
12
A
3
A
2
=
1

(fixed from the geometry), and A
4
A
3
A
11
=
2

Bhaveshkumar P. Patel, Jagdish M. Prajapati: Evaluation of Bucket Capacity, Digging Force Calculations and Static Force Analysis of Mini
Hydraulic Backhoe Excavator, Machine Design, Vol.4(2012) No.1, ISSN 1821-1259; pp. 59-66

62



Fig.3. Backhoe geometrical parameters assignment

(fixed from the geometry) into the following equation will
determine the joint 4 angle
4
.

4
=
1
+
2
+ -
1
-
2
+
3
(14)

So by using equations (12), (13), and (14) the distance A
2
A
4

can be determined from equation (11). And by using
equation (11) and (8), the digging force when the arm
cylinder is active, F
Arm
can be determined by equation (7).

5.2. Force calculation when the bucket cylinder is
active

Force created by the bucket cylinder A
9
A
10
(length of the
arm cylinder) F
A
9
A
10
can be found by using its end
cylinder diameter and working pressure as described in
the previous section.

F
A
9
A
10
= p (

4
, )B
B
2
(15)

As can be seen from the Fig. 3 the breakout force from
the bucket cylinder F
Bucket
(acting on the teeth of the
bucket in the tangential direction of A
3
A
4
radius) will be
the moment created by the bucket cylinder M
Bucket
divided
by the distance A
3
A
4
. This leads to;

F
Buckct
=
M
EucRet
A
3
A
4
(16)

In equation (16) the length A
3
A
4
is fixed from the
geometry of the bucket and thus known to us. Here, only
the bucket cylinder is active and the bucket is made
curling inward from the point A
3
to point A
4
for the
excavation operation to be carried out by bucket cylinder.
Now moment created on bucket M
Bucket
will be the
product of the force created by the bucket cylinder F
A
9
A
10

and the perpendicular distance to the cylinder, so M
Bucket

can be given by;

N
Buckct
= (A
10
A
12
) sin(zA
9
A
10
A
12
) F
A
9
A
10
(17)
Now in equation (17) the distance A
10
A
12
is fixed from
the geometry of the backhoe excavator which is shown in
Fig. 3, and the bucket cylinder force F
A
9
A
10
can be
determined from equation (15), now the only unknown
remained in the equation is the zA
9
A
10
A
12
=
2
. From
the cosine rule applied to the triangle A
9
A
10
A
12
the
angle
2
can be given by;

2
= tan
-1
_
{4(A
9
A
10
)
2
(A
10
A
12
)
2
-|(A
9
A
10
)
2
+(A
10
A
12
)
2
-(A
9
A
12
)
2
]
2
]
1
2
,
(A
9
A
10
)
2
+ (A
10
A
12
)
2
-(A
9
A
12
)
2
_
(18)

From the equation (18) the angle
2
can be determined
either from the sensors (in case of autonomous backhoe
operations) or from the joint 4 angle
4
. If the joint 4 angle

4
is known then by following the reverse procedure of the
end of the section in which the arm cylinder is active, from
equations (14), (13) and (12) the length of the bucket
actuator A
9
A
10
can be determined. Thus by using the
equations (17), and (18) the breakout force or bucket
digging force can be determined in the generalized form
from equation (16). In this section, both the breakout
force of bucket cylinder F
Bucket
and the digging force of
the arm cylinder F
Arm
have been determined in the
generalized form. These two forces are the function of the
respective joint angles, and these joint angles are the
function of time while excavating the earth. So equation
(7) and (16) provides the generalized digging and the
breakout forces as a function of time (dynamic), and thus
can be used as a boundary condition for the dynamic FEA
of the backhoe excavator, but the dynamic FEA of the
backhoe excavator is not the part of the research reported
in this paper. MATLAB code also developed for this
generalized digging force model.
Bhaveshkumar P. Patel, Jagdish M. Prajapati: Evaluation of Bucket Capacity, Digging Force Calculations and Static Force Analysis of Mini
Hydraulic Backhoe Excavator, Machine Design, Vol.4(2012) No.1, ISSN 1821-1259; pp. 59-66


63



Fig.4. Maximum breakout force configuration

6. STATIC FORCE ANALYSIS

In this section, calculation for the static force analysis of
the backhoe excavator for the condition in which the
mechanism produces the maximum breakout force has
been explained. Unlike the previous sections flexibility
where the force analysis could be done for any of the
position and orientation (collectively known as the
configuration) of the mechanism from the available
breakout and digging forces, in static analysis one
configuration of the mechanism has to be decided first for
which the analysis is to be carried out. From all the
configurations, the maximum breakout force condition is
the most critical one as it produces the highest breakout
force, and thus for this condition the force analysis is
done, and will be used as a boundary condition for static
FEA. The free body diagram of bucket, arm, and boom,
directions and magnitudes of the forces are explained in
the next section. Fig. 4 shows the configuration in which
the mechanism is producing the maximum breakout force.

6.1. Bucket static force analysis

Fig. 5 shows the free body diagram of the bucket. As can
be seen the reaction force on the bucket teeth at point A
4

due to the breakout force 7.626 KN acts at the angle
S8.2S
0
for configuration of the maximum breakout force
condition. Static forces on joints can be calculated by
considering the summation of forces must be equal to
zero and summation of moments equal to zero for
equilibrium condition of the bucket, arm and boom
respectively. All the forces in the Fig. 5, Fig. 6, Fig. 7 and
Fig. 8 are in Kilo Newton (KN). Firstly the reaction force
acting on the bucket teeth (at point A
4
) is resolved in the
horizontal (X) and the vertical (Y) directions by using the
following equations (19) and (20).

F
4H
= F
B
cos() (19)

F
4V
= F
B
sin() (20)
Where, is the angle between the breakout force of
bucket and the ground level as horizontal reference
surface of 38.23 as shown in Fig. 5. Now considering the
bucket in equilibrium M = 0, taking moment about the
bucket hinge point A
3
leads to;

F
4
l
4
-F
gb
l
gb
= F
11
l
11
(21)

Where, F
4
is the force acting at bucket tool tip when the
bucket approaches to the earth in the maximum breakout
force condition as shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, which is
equivalent to the bucket breakout force F
B
.



Fig.5. Free body diagram of bucket

l
4
is the distance of the tool tip of the bucket from the
bucket hinge point (547 mm), l
gb
is the distance between
the C.G. of the bucket to the bucket hinge point (220
mm), l
11
is the distance of the bucket hinge point to the
idler link hinge point on bucket (181 mm), F
gb
is the
gravitational force acting on bucket (0.235 KN) and F
11
is
the force acting on hinge point of the idler link on bucket
Bhaveshkumar P. Patel, Jagdish M. Prajapati: Evaluation of Bucket Capacity, Digging Force Calculations and Static Force Analysis of Mini
Hydraulic Backhoe Excavator, Machine Design, Vol.4(2012) No.1, ISSN 1821-1259; pp. 59-66

64
which can be found by using equation (21) and acting at
an angle
11
of 64 as shown in Fig. 5. The force F
11
can
be resolved in horizontal (X) and the vertical (Y)
directions by using the following equations (22) and (23).

F
11H
= F
11
cos(
11
) (22)

F
11V
= F
11
sin(
11
) (23)

Considering F = 0, force on the bucket hinge point A
3

can be found out as shown in Fig. 5.

Table 1. Static forces on bucket joints

Joint of the
bucket
Forces (KN)
Horizontal (X)
component
Vertical (Y)
component
A
4
-5.933 4.716
A
11
-9.977 -20.456
A
3
15.97 15.74

The negative sign shows the force acting in the leftward
direction for horizontal component of the force and
downward direction for vertical component of the force.
The forces on each of the joints of the bucket are shown
in Table 1.

6.2. Arm static force analysis

In Fig. 6 (a) shows the important dimensions and angles
for the moments and the resolution of forces respectively.
Fig. 6 (b) shows the static forces acting at the different
points on the arm. The Force (F
12
) is the force acting on
the intermediate link (A
10
A
12
) from the idler link (A
11
A
10
)
at an angle [
10
of 70.5 as shown in Fig. 6(a).

F
12
= F
11
cos(
10
) (24)

The force F
9
is acting on arm through the bucket cylinder,
at an angle
10a
of 10.13 as shown in Fig 6(a).

F
9
= F
11
cos(
10a
) (25)

The force F
12
can be resolved in horizontal (X) and the
vertical (Y) directions by using the following equations
(26) and (27). Here,
12
is the angle made by intermediate
link with horizontal reference of 46.50 as shown in Fig.
6(a).

F
12H
= F
12
cos(
12
) (26)

F
12V
= F
12
cos(
12
) (27)

The force F
9
can be resolved in horizontal (X) and the
vertical (Y) directions by using the following equations
(28) and (29). Here,
9
is the angle made by force on arm
through bucket cylinder with horizontal reference of
53.70 as shown in Fig. 6(a).

F
9H
= F
9
cos(
9
) (28)

F
9V
= F
9
cos(
9
) (29)

Considering the arm in equilibrium M = 0 and taking
moment about the arm to boom hinge point (A
2
) leads to;

F
8
l
8
= (F
3V
l
3H
) +(F
ga
l
ga
) -(F
3H
l
3V
) -
(F
12
l
12
) -(F
9
l
9
) (30)

(a)


(b)

Fig.6. (a) Geometrical dimensions of the arm
(b) Free body diagram of the arm

Where, F
8
is the force acting at arm cylinder front end
hinge point (A
8
) which can be determined using the
equation (20). Here, l
8
is the distance between the arm
hinge point (A
2
) and arm cylinder front end hinge point
(A
8
) in maximum breakout force condition of 285 mm as
shown in Fig. 4, F
3V
is the vertical force component acts
on bucket hinge point (A
3
) of 15.74 KN as shown in Fig.
6(b), l
3H
is the horizontal distance between the bucket
hinge point (A
3
) and arm hinge point (A
2
) of 466 mm as
shown in Fig. 6(a), F
ga
is the gravitational force on arm of
0.289 as shown in Fig. 6(b), l
ga
is the distance between the
C.G. of arm and arm hinge point (A
2
) of 194 mm as
shown in Fig. 6(a), F
3H
is the horizontal force component
acts on bucket hinge point (A
3
) of 15.97 KN as shown in
Fig. 6(b), l
3V
is the vertical distance between the bucket
hinge point (A
3
) and arm hinge point (A
2
) of 551 mm as
shown in Fig. 6(a), F
12
is the force acting on intermediate
link due to idler link of 7.784 KN as shown in Fig. 6(b),
l
12
is the distance between arm hinge point (A
2
) and
intermediate link hinge point on arm (A
12
) of 591 mm as
Bhaveshkumar P. Patel, Jagdish M. Prajapati: Evaluation of Bucket Capacity, Digging Force Calculations and Static Force Analysis of Mini
Hydraulic Backhoe Excavator, Machine Design, Vol.4(2012) No.1, ISSN 1821-1259; pp. 59-66


65
shown in Fig. 4, F
9
is the force acting on arm through
bucket cylinder of 22.405 KN as shown in Fig. 6(b), and
l
9
is the distance between arm hinge point (A
2
) and the
bucket cylinder end hinge point (A
9
) of 294 mm as shown
in Fig. 4. Considering F = 0, force on the arm to boom
hinge point A
2
can be found out as shown in Fig. 6(b).
The forces on each of the joints of the arm are shown in
Table 2.

Table 2. Static forces on arm joints

Joint of
the
bucket
Forces (KN)
Horizontal (X)
component
Vertical (Y)
component
A
3
-15.97 -15.74
A
12
-5.358 5.646
A
9
13.264 18.057
A
8
-44.196 0
A
2
52.26 -7.949

6.3. Boom static force analysis


(a)

(b)

Fig.7. (a) Geometrical dimensions of the boom
(b) Free body diagram of boom

Fig. 7 shows the free body diagram of the boom, in which
Fig. 7 (a) shows the important dimensions and angles for
the moments and the resolution of forces respectively.
The Fig. 7 (b) shows the static forces acting at the
different points on the boom. The force F
7
is the force acts
by arm at point A
7
through arm cylinder which is same as
the force F
8
but direction is opposite.
The force F
7
can be resolved in horizontal (X) and the
vertical (Y) directions by using the following equations
(31) and (32). Here,
7
is the angle made by force on
boom through arm cylinder with horizontal reference at
point A
7
of 0 as shown in Fig. 7(b).

F
7H
= F
7
cos(
7
) (31)

F
7V
= F
7
cos(
7
) (32)

Considering the boom in equilibrium M = 0 and taking
moment about the arm to boom hinge point (A
1
) leads to;

F
5
l
5
= (F
2H
l
2V
) +(F
gbo
l
gbo
) -(F
2V
l
2H
) -
(F
7
l
7
) (33)

Where, force F
5
is the acting at point A
5
through boom
cylinder which is acting at angle
5
at point A
5
of 45.58
as shown in Fig. 7(b). l
5
is the distance between bomm
hinge point and boom cylinder end hinge point on swing
link of 218 mm as shown in Fig. 4. F
2H
and F
2V
are the
horizontal and vertical components of the force acting at
point A
2
of 52.26 KN and 7.963 KN respectively as
shown in Fig. 7(a). l
2H
and l
2V
are the horizontal and
vertical distances of point A
2
form boom hinge point A
1

of 1301 mm and 348 mm respectively as shown in Fig.
7(a). F
gbo
is the gravitional force acts on boom of 0.432
KN as shown in Fig. 7(b), and l
gbo
is the horizontal
distance between C.G. of boom and boom hinge point A
1
of 524 mm as shown in Fig. 7(a). l
7
is the vertical
distance between arm cylinder end hinge point A
7
and
boom hinge point A
1
of 633 mm as shown in Fig. 4. The
force F
5
can be resolved in horizontal (X) and the vertical
(Y) directions by using the following equations (34) and
(35).

F
5H
= F
5
cos(
5
) (34)

F
5V
= F
5
cos(
5
) (35)
'
Considering F = 0, force on the bucket hinge point A
1

can be found out as shown in Fig. 7(b). The forces on
each of the joints of the boom are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Static forces on boom joints

Joint of the
boom
Forces (KN)
Horizontal (X)
component
Vertical (Y)
component
A
2
-52.26 7.963
A
7
44.196 0
A
5
-69.032 70.444
A
1
-77.033 78.407

6.4. Swing link static force analysis

Fig. 8 shows the free body diagram of the swing link, it
shows the resolved forces in horizontal and vertical
directions at each joint of the swing link. The force F
6
is
acting at point A
6
of boom cylinder end hinge point
through the boom cylinder which is equal to the force F
5

but opposite in direction. F
01
and F
02
are the forces acts on
swing cylinder front end hinge points of A
01
and A
02

respectively through swing cylinders 1 and 2 of 30.827
KN. These forces can be finding out by using the equation
(36).

66


Wh
and
15.
link

Tab
J
7.
Tab
buc
pro

Tab
spe

M
d
Sp
Di
Bhaveshkuma
Fig.8.
here, D is the
d p is the wo
.7 MPa. The
k are shown in
ble 4. Static fo
Joint of the
Swing link
A
1

A
6

A
01

A
02


COMPARI
EXCAVAT

ble 5 shows
cket specifica
oposed backho
ble 5. Compar
ecifications an
Name of Manu
Model Name D
Physical
dimensions
B
Bucket
pecifications
N
W
igging force
(N)
ar P. Patel, Jagd

Free body di

e swing cylind
rking pressur
forces on eac
n Table 4.
forces on swing
Horizont
compon
77.03
69.03
-30.82
-30.82
ISON OF B
TOR MODE
the comparis
ations and dig
oe excavator w
rison of physi
nd digging for
ufacture K
Description
Arm length
Boom length
Overall
height
Capacity
(m
3
)
No. of Teeth
Weight (kg)
--- 1
dish M. Prajapat

iagram of swin

der end diame
re of the hydr
ch of the joint
g link joints

Forces (KN
tal (X)
nent
V
c
33
32
27
27
ACKHOE
ELS
son of physic
gging forces o
with the stand
cal dimension
rces
Komatsu Hit
PC-09

Za
8
684 70
1357
2100 21
0.025 0.0
3 3
15 15
10545.75 103
ti: Evaluation of B
Hydraulic Backh
ng link
(36)
eter of 50 mm
raulic circuit o
ts of the swin
N)
Vertical (Y)
component
-78.407
-70.444
0
0
cal dimension
of the designe
dard excavator
ns, bucket
achi
Propose
Model
axis-
-1
ABEAC
10LD
00 723
1347
150 1996
022 0.028
3 3
5.6 17
300 7626
Bucket Capacity,
hoe Excavator, M

)
m.
of
ng
ns,
ed
rs.
ed
l
C-
8. CON

The cap
to the st
This bu
compare
excavato
force ca
J1179 a
only pr
maximu
applicat
predict
configur
the gen
breakou
the digg
models
used as
backhoe
consider
and can
the bac
backhoe
dimensi
shows
dimensi
backhoe
enough
3916.7
requires
mechani
ultimate






REFER

[1] BHA
PRA
App
Jour
(IJE
[2] ME
Exc
Tec
Tec
[3] OFF
Indi
[4] PAT
for A
Rob
Pitt
[5] SAN
Rob
Inst
Ave
[6] SAE
Exc
Com
Digging Force C
Machine Design, V
NCLUSION
pacity of the b
tandard SAE
ucket specific
ed to all th
or models av
alculation is d
and comes out
rovide the b
um breakout f
ion it is impo
the digging
ration, which
neralized brea
ut force (when
ging force (
are develope
a boundary co
e excavator. T
ring the max
be used as a b
ckhoe parts.
e excavator
ons, bucket
that by kip
ons the req
e attachment
and more tha
N [1] for lig
less pressure
ism for diggin
ely the operatin
RENCES
AVESHKUM
AJAPATI, An
plications: An
rnal of Eng
EST), Vol. 3, N
EHTA GAURA
cavator attach
chnology, Ni
chnology, Ahm
F-HIGHWAY
ia Backhoe Lo
TRICK SEAN
Autonomous M
botics Institu
sburgh, Penns
NJIV SINGH
botic Excava
titute Carnegi
enue Pittsburg
E INTERNA
cavator and
mmonwealth D
Calculations and
Vol.4(2012) No.1
N
bucket has bee
J296 and com
cation is the
he other sta
ailable in the
done by follow
t to be 7626
breakout and
force conditio
ortant to unde
forces for a
is presented h
akout force
n the bucket c
when the ar
d as a functio
ondition for th
The static force
ximum breako
boundary con
The compar
models in
specification
pping slightly
quired diggin
is reduced t
an resistive fo
ght duty con
e and power
ng task and fu
ng cost gets re
MAR P. PA
n Excavation
n Analytical A
gineering Scie
No. 5, May 20
AV K, Design
hment, M. Te
irma Univer
medabad-3824
Y RESEARCH
oaders, March
N ROWE, Ada
Mass Excavat
ute Carnegie
sylvania 1521
H, Synthesis
tion, Ph.D.
ie Mellon Un
gh, PA 15213,
ATIONALS, S
Backhoe D
Drive, Warren
Static Force Ana
1, ISSN 1821-125
en calculated
mes out to be
e most super
andard mini
e market. The
wing the stan
N. The SAE
d digging f
on but for au
erstand and to
all position o
here by develo
model. A ge
cylinder is ac
rm cylinder
on of time an
he dynamic F
e analysis perf
out force con
ndition for stat
rison of the
context of
ns and diggin
y less or s
ng force of
to 7626 N, w
orces offered b
nstruction wo
to actuate the
uel consumpti
educed.
ATEL, DR.
force calcula
Approach, Int
ence and Te
011, pp 3831-
n & Developm
ech. thesis, In
sity of Scie
481, May 200
H, Equipment
h 2008, pp 2.
aptive Motion
tion, Ph. D. T
e Mellon U
3, January 19
of Tactical P
Thesis, The
niversity, 500
, January 1995
SAE J1179: H
Digging For
ndale, PA, 199
alysis of Mini
59; pp. 59-66
according
0.028 m
3
.
rior when
hydraulic
e breakout
ndard SAE
standards
forces for
utonomous
o know or
of bucket
opment of
eneralized
ctive), and
is active)
nd can be
FEA of the
formed by
nfiguration
tic FEA of
different
physical
ng forces
same link
proposed
which are
by ground
rk, which
e backhoe
ion is less,
J. M.
ations and
ternational
echnology
3837.
ment of an
nstitute of
ence and
8, pp 1.
t Analysis:
n Planning
hesis, The
University,
99, pp i.
Plans for
Robotics
00 Forbes
5, pp 9.
Hydraulic
rces, 400
90, pp 1.