Trucks

1. Introduction
The choice of system in transporting material from a loading point depends on many
factors including:

site conditions

volume of material to be moved

type of material

time available

Other influential factors need to be considered:

Will transport be over metalled roads or not?

Must the roads be kept clean?

Management impositions.

A rough guide in selecting an appropriate system:

1
2. The Lorry (Truck or Wagon)
2.1 Introduction

Range of trucks available to suit almost any

type of work:

Types (1), (2), (5) or (6)

Conventional trucks, for transporting

building materials on public highways

distribute the load more evenly onto

the axles and are designed to limit the
maximum axle load within legal
requirements

Types (3), (4) and (7) are for transporting excavated earth are usually of the rear dump

Ideally, trucks should have four-wheel drive

to overcome difficult ground conditions

for travelling at relatively high speeds on smooth roads

two axles trucks:

good manoeuvrability (smaller turning circle)

load on the rear axle is high when laden (can be solved by modern large volume
tyres)

struggle on very soft going ground conditions

Three-axle wagons, used when it is necessary to limit the bearing load:

due to ground condition

regulation on axle load 8 tonnes

problem: difficult to accommodate the large diameter wheels

2.2 Transporting Distances

Muck wagons/trucks are mainly used to transport material over distances between 1
and 10 km

Performance of muck trucks and excavators are interdependent:

2
 waiting time
e for excavators are reduced as the wagon size increases, but trucks
waiting time are longer

smaller wagon/truck shorter loading period and shorter waiting time

2.3 Size

The optimum wagon size is very difficult to determine and depends very much on site
conditions:

In practice the optimum wagon size seems to be between three to ten times the size
of the loading buckets

Based upon experience on a variety of differing types of contract, ground conditions,

loading plant, etc.

Simulation model to study loadi

loading/discharge cycle

3
2.4 Haul Roads

For economic transporting, haul roads should ideally be:

maximum gradient 15%

without bends and curves

hard surface

continuously maintained in this condition by grading - cost easily offset by

maintenance and repair costs of the trucks lower tyre wear and increased output

2.5 Advantages of Using Large Dump Trucks

uneconomic to use very large dump trucks in a small earthmoving project

large dump trucks can offer many advantages:

reduced number of trucks fewer drivers reduction in labour costs

match the largest loading machines less waiting time reduced operating cost
very robust
the exhaust system can be arranged to provide heating that prevent the soil clinging
to the body
can carry large rock fragments reduced excavation costs
large trucks are now available in an articulated form 25% saving in manoeuvring
time; overcome problems with sharp bends and obstruction

3. Determining the number of haul units required

3.1 The haul cycle time

Components of haul cycle:

1) Load (at the excavator/loader)

2) Haul (from the loader to unloading site)
3) Dump (at the unloading site, including manoeuvring
4) Return (travel back to the loader)
5) Spot (move into position at the loader)

4
3.2 Loading time

  
The time required to load a haul unit:

 

   @ 100%  

 
        
or

Note: Loading rate at 100% loader efficiency is used because a loader typically operates at
or near 100% efficiency when actually engaged in loading.

3.3 Calculating the number of haul units required (traditional method)

Traditional method is a deterministic method which assumes that the actual loading and
travel times will exactly the length of time used in the formula.

# $   

The number of haul unit required to service a loader:
       !"

 

Example 1

If a shovel production at job efficiency equals to 45 minute-hour is 228 lcm/hr and truck
transit time (cycle time less load time) is 0.5 hr, determine how many trucks having capacity
16 lcm would be required to fully service the shovel. How many bank metres per hour will
be produced by this combination?

60
Solution:
%$  @ 100%
228 
304 /$
45

16 
304

 

0.053 $
304 $

# 
0.5 $
0.053

!0.053 / 0.5"


10.4
0.053
10.433962

Use 11 trucks

Expected production = 228 bcm/hr

Example 2

If a 2.3 lcm hydraulic shovel has a loading cycle time of 22 sec, how many trucks would be
required to service this shovel? The soil is though soil with a bucket fill factor of 0.8.
Assume that the truck will carry 16 m3 of loose soil. Truck transit time is 0.5 hr.

5
 16
Solution:
      $ 

8.7
2.3  0.8
8.7
Use 9 loads

9  22

 

0.055 $
60  60

0.055 / 0.5
      

10.1
0.055

Use 11 trucks

3.4 Effect of reduced haul units

Calculating the number of haul units required using rational method:

No increase in production if more than the required number of haul units is provided

If less than the required number of haul units is available, the expected production is
reduced in proportion of the shortage

6 .  

Expected production if N < Nreq
    ! 2 345 "
 9:;3
7 8  .  

Example 3

In situation of Example 1, only 8 trucks are available. What is the expected production of

8
this system?
   
 228 $
10.3

177 $

4. Cost analysis
Cost performance (or cost per unit of production) is usually a prime consideration in
planning an excavation and hauling operation.

<    

Cost performance formula:
<  

9  

Cost performance may be calculated for the haul fleet only or for the entire load and
haul fleet

Cost performance analysis is a trial-and-error procedure. It may become time-

consuming if done manually

6
Example 4

A shovel has a loading rate of 303 lcm/hr, a job efficiency of 45 min-hour, and costs
RM83/hr. Using the truck data below, determine what truck size and how many of them
should be used to provide the lowest loading and hauling cost. What will be the production
of this system?

Truck size (lcm) Cost (RM/hr) Transit time (hr)

11.43 31 0.46
14.70 38 0.48

Solution:

11.43 
Load time:

  !11.43 "

303 $

0.0377 hr
14.7 

  !14.70 "

303 $

0.0485 hr

0.0377 / 0.48
Number of haul units:
 !11.43 "

13.2
0.0377

0.0485 / 0.48
 !14.70 "

10.9
0.0485
Cost performance:
Truck size Number Production Fleet cost Cost

45 14  31 / 83
(lcm/hr) RM/hr Performance
303 
517
60
11.43 14 2.28

227
13 13  31 / 83
 227
486
13.3
11.43 13 2.17

224
12 12  31 / 83
 227
455
13.3
11.43 12 2.21

206

45 11  38 / 83
303 
501
60
14.70 11 2.21

227
10 10  38 / 83
 227
463
10.9
14.70 10 2.23

208
9 10  38 / 83
 227
425
10.9
14.70 9 2.27

187

7
Optimum solution = 13 nos of 11.43 lcm trucks @ RM2.17/lcm
Expected production = 224 lcm/hr

5. Queuing Theory Method

Queuing theory is the mathematical study of waiting lines (or queues). The theory
enables mathematical analysis of several related processes, including arriving at the
(back of the) queue, waiting in the queue (essentially a storage process), and being
served by the server(s) at the front of the queue.

Although queuing theory is founded on a complex mathematical basis however, it may

be easily applied to excavation and hauling problem.

Derivation of queuing theory procedure:

Derivation of the procedure will not be covered in this course

Please refer to books on Operational Research.

5.1 Application of queuing theory

Terms and symbols:

n = number of haul unit in the fleet

a = mean arrival rate of a particular haul unit (arrivals/hr)
l = mean loading rate of the excavator (units/hr)
r = ratio of arrival rate to loading rate
P0 = probability that no haul unit is available at the loader
Pt = probability that one or more haul units at the loader

Equation for computing P0:

: KL

n!
P@
AB !r"G J
!n E i"!
HI@

This equation looks complex; actually it is easily computed by using a hand

calculator!!

Relationship between P0 and Pt:

There must be either a haul unit or no haul unit at the loader therefore, the sum of
P0 and Pt must equal to 1:

9M
1 E 9@

Equation for computing r

8
 1

 

 

1

N 

N 

  ! "
N 

   ! $"

1
O

!    "

  

 




!1  "

!    "

 

     

Example 5

A shovel has a loading rate of 290 lcm/hr, truck capacity is 16 lcm, and the truck travel time
less loading time is 0.54 hr. For a fleet of 5 trucks, what is the probability that there will be a
truck available for loading at any particular instant?

Solution:

P 9M 
5
9M
1 E 9@  


     

: KL

n!
P@
AB !r"G J
!n E i"!
HI@

Calculate r:

 
16 
  
290 $
 
0.54 $
16 
O

290 $  0.54 $

0.1
0.102

9
Calculate P0:

: KL

n!
P@
AB !r"G J
!n E i"!
HI@
Y KL

5!

AB !0.1"GJ
!5 E i"!
HI@
5! 5! 5! 5! 5! 5! KL

Z !0.1"@ / !0.1"L / !0.1"[ / !0.1"\ / !0.1"] / !0.1"Y ^
5! 4! 3! 2! 1! 0!

 :
5! !5"!4"!3"!2"!1"
1. !0.1"[
!0.1"[
3! !3"!2"!1"
2. 0!
1

5! 5! 5! 5! 5! 5! KL
9@
Z !0.1"@ / !0.1"L / !0.1"[ / !0.1"\ / !0.1"] / !0.1"Y ^
5! 4! 3! 2! 1! 0!

_1 / 5!0.1"L / !5"!4"!0.1"[ / !5"!4"!3"!0.1"\ / !5"!4"!3"!2"!0.1"] / !5"!4"!3"!2"!1"!0.1"Y `KL

_1 / 0.500 / 0.200 / 0.060 / 0.012 / 0.001`KL

_1.773`KL
1

1.773

0.564

9M
1 E 9@
1+0.500+0.200+0.060+0.012+0.001

1 E 0.564

0.436

5.2 Optimum number of haul units

The expected production of an excavator/haul system using queuing theory is determine

bay multiplying the normal production of the excavator by the probability of having a haul
unit available at any instant:

   

    9M

Example 6

A shovel has a loading rate of 290 lcm/hr, job efficiency equals to 45 minutes-hour and costs
RM83 per hour. The trucks being used have a capacity of 16 lcm, cost RM31 per hour and
have a travel time less loading time of 0.54 hour. What is the optimum number of haul units
to use for this operation? What is the expected production and unit cost of excavation and
haul?

10
Solution:

 
16 
  
290 $
 
0.54 $
16 
O

290 $  0.54 $

0.1

45
   $
290 
218 /$
60

N  /  

6     

N 
!16290" / 0.54

!16290"

10.8

11
10.7875
Number of Production Truck Excavator Fleet Cost Cost per Unit
Po Pt
Trucks (n) (lcm) Cost (RM) Cost (RM) (RM) (RM/lcm)

13 0.084 0.916 199.614 403 83 486 2.43

12 0.120 0.880 191.897 372 83 455 2.37
11 0.163 0.837 182.415 341 83 424 2.32
10 0.215 0.785 171.221 310 83 393 2.30
9 0.273 0.727 158.441 279 83 362 2.28
8 0.338 0.662 144.247 248 83 331 2.29
7 0.409 0.591 128.829 217 83 300 2.33
Optimum solution: 9 trucks @ 2.28 per lcm
Expected production = 158 lcm per hr

Example 7

A CAT 320C excavator equipped with a 1.5 lcm heaped bucket is used to dig in sandy clay
soil (15% swell). It takes about 0.33 min per bucket load dumped into a fleet of CAT D30D
articulated trucks. Each truck carries a heaped capacity of 16.5 lcm. It takes about 5 min to
haul and dump the load, return and position for loading. (1m3=1.30795yd3,
1yd3=0.76456m3)

Questions:

1) How long does the excavator take to load one D30D? (Assume the bucket fill factor for
the sandy clay is approximately 1.0)

11
 16.5 lcmtruck load
11 cyclestruck load
1.5 lcmbucket load
=
!11 cycles"!0.33 mincycle" = 3.63 min to load one D30D

2) How much soil can be hauled in 1 work hour by on D30D?

Work hour producHon = _!rated capacity"!operaHonal eciency"`cycle Hme

Cycle Hme = load+!haul+dump+return"

= 3.63 min+5 min
= 8.63 min
_!16.5 lcm"!50 minhr"`8.63 mincycle
95.6 lcmhrD30D
EsHmated hourly producHon =
=

3) How many D30Ds will the 320C support?

Number of trucks = truck cycle time / truck time at the load site

!8.63 minhauling cycle"

!3.63 minloading cycle"
Number of D30D trucks supported by 320C =
= 2.37 trucks
Note: 3 trucks would mean there is a good chance that one truck will be waiting to be
loaded most of the time. With 2 trucks, the excavator will be idle for sometime. It is
more cost effective to have the less expensive piece of equipment idle.

Because of the small amount of excavation, use 2 trucks to haul 1150 bcm of soil that
must be excavated.

4) What is the 320Cs hourly production?

_!1.5 lcmbucket"!50 minhr"`0.33 mincycle

227 lcmhr
Hourly producHon =
=

It should be noted that in this scenario the number of truck determine the hourly

95.6 lcmhrD30D 2 D30D = 191.2 lcmhr

production, and not the excavator. Two trucks can load and haul

5) How long will it take to complete the excavation of 1150 bcm of sandy clay soil (1.15%
swell)?

Convert the 1150 bcm to lcm: 1150 bcm (1.15% swell) = 1322 lcm to be move
1332 lcm / 191.2 lcm = 6.97 hr = 7 hr.

12
6. Example of Truck Selection by Simulation

Example 8

An excavation operation involves trucks arriving at a

site and being loaded by a dragline

Trucks arrive and are loaded according to these discrete time distributions

Time between Probability Truck loading Probability

truck arrivals (hr) time (hr)
0.25 0.4 0.25 0.4
0.50 0.3 0.50 0.4
0.75 0.1 0.75 0.2
1.0 0.2

Calculate the total time that the trucks will be waiting in any one period of 4 hours selected
at random

Random Arrival Time Clock Arrival Time at Dragline Waiting Time Random Loading Departure Time
Seq
Number (hr) Time (hr) (hr) (hr) Number Time (hr)

13
Solution:

Process generators:
Time between truck arrivals
Time between Probability Cumulative
Random Number
truck arrivals (hr) % Probability
0.25 40 40 0 39
0.50 30 70 40 69
0.75 10 80 70 79
1.0 20 100 80 100
Truck loading time
Loading Time (hr) Probability Cumulative Random Number
% Probability
0.25 40 40 0 39
0.50 40 80 40 79
0.75 20 100 80 100

Truck Random Arrival Clock Dragline Wait Random Loading Departure

Number Number Time (hr) Time (h) Time (h) Time (h) Number Time Time (hr)
1 78 0.75 0.75 0.75 0 30 0.25 1
2 26 0.25 1 1 0 14 0.25 1.25
3 21 0.25 1.25 1.25 0 32 0.25 1.5
4 3 0.25 1.5 1.5 0 60 0.5 2
5 10 0.25 1.75 2 0.25 8 0.25 2.25
6 14 0.25 2 2.25 0.25 33 0.25 2.5
7 30 0.25 2.25 2.5 0.25 73 0.5 3
8 18 0.25 2.5 3 0.5 62 0.5 3.5
9 18 0.25 2.75 3.5 0.75 89 0.75 4.25
10 84 1 3.75 4.25 0.5 63 0.5 4.75
11 4 0.25 4 4.75 0.75 65 0.5 5.25
3.25
Random Number
29 97 38 28 97 54 95 94 54 79 93 88 1 82 40 62 93 78 8 88 64 58 31 6 45
78 26 21 3 10 14 30 18 18 84 4 11 62 16 70 2 16 7 31 97 79 56 98 79 39
75 49 97 87 79 32 66 57 89 56 81 70 53 83 21 25 26 56 55 56 34 59 74 21 76
94 25 80 13 50 67 95 11 78 42 25 91 82 74 30 9 21 90 26 44 23 81 74 51 76
54 40 59 35 35 47 55 55 73 50 85 38 61 49 8 99 14 2 17 94 61 95 25 85 66
35 76 40 98 88 45 58 65 12 18 7 43 36 28 10 7 84 16 0 49 32 19 66 87 12
37 87 64 2 11 8 2 20 20 6 12 16 95 60 69 81 76 75 88 69 95 13 76 70 19
11 60 36 32 48 57 96 71 43 65 62 37 78 51 87 3 64 45 33 47 17 3 29 15 33
61 57 28 33 96 48 50 86 85 83 1 53 45 70 19 24 48 10 90 99 68 89 58 52 94
84 10 80 38 90 52 99 85 52 49 66 63 69 12 32 37 32 28 96 59 78 62 25 95 84
44 14 10 13 1 66 69 55 12 1 20 94 22 93 90 16 82 64 28 47 20 71 67 21 93
92 3 96 16 65 42 68 71 56 75 17 72 63 80 81 3 42 50 28 92 45 44 13 45 21
13 55 9 80 31 51 35 96 32 71 20 22 80 42 18 57 5 5 20 1 80 8 15 42 15
38 43 40 25 46 88 84 87 75 2 39 99 3 76 76 62 88 97 89 7 97 15 70 27 27
39 9 51 67 63 4 76 76 86 10 50 28 97 9 87 65 13 33 28 96 12 27 31 88 48
89 29 73 50 47 51 32 58 7 49 14 2 26 97 83 47 51 55 92 7 45 85 76 15 78
68 83 33 18 4 11 98 11 18 34 84 47 18 46 71 53 88 78 30 71 35 96 78 57 19
42 44 69 11 31 49 98 33 76 12 81 30 83 3 87 5 88 21 78 89 94 32 37 83 74
48 73 61 15 45 74 41 27 26 48 22 46 86 27 12 21 28 38 56 48 86 18 39 39 19
89 99 62 81 98 40 33 62 77 60 85 37 15 69 76 71 38 27 32 40 53 36 4 51 54

14
 83 15 51 17 86 77 66 84 50 84 44 96 92 78 37 24 49 35 54 43 78 50 40 32 56
17 25 7 90 90 70 48 70 69 23 8 85 8 95 84 53 85 55 11 93 41 6 66 72 39
23 76 93 41 27 30 77 61 72 74 81 13 73 21 99 1 47 52 44 19 51 25 29 43 54
76 57 8 22 23 26 22 70 63 70 6 6 59 75 92 86 60 50 87 81 36 80 83 43 17
96 79 7 87 51 5 17 61 43 13 64 77 45 7 55 68 20 0 17 23 64 83 61 76 37
68 23 26 10 82 97 77 2 89 33 70 46 23 45 83 99 55 95 4 41 89 33 49 89 86
19 93 65 67 40 81 96 44 68 47 78 3 18 58 1 48 19 2 34 49 99 56 54 71 65
34 76 58 86 21 86 84 70 40 23 89 26 42 62 69 10 63 32 80 30 18 12 75 34 81
26 45 91 80 51 26 64 71 6 49 96 57 56 49 81 91 77 95 44 51 61 34 89 73 78
98 26 56 88 66 51 69 71 48 14 72 40 57 32 23 54 36 66 29 10 99 4 41 86 60
53 60 78 66 81 67 45 56 64 78 19 79 10 2 55 61 32 20 20 49 11 89 54 64 96
0 99 16 71 84 95 51 9 72 70 81 23 33 89 62 20 78 77 64 37 52 39 88 16 92
24 43 49 79 28 16 10 94 49 35 95 98 59 27 70 55 34 62 91 88 56 71 79 75 31
30 14 32 60 8 33 73 62 89 63 65 18 15 22 39 29 89 8 58 11 83 66 4 15 74
39 58 83 63 94 73 84 48 95 17 79 74 78 39 10 38 35 75 74 70 69 54 82 75 50

Example 9

Trucks arrive at an excavator from distribution points on a large earthmoving project. The
arrival time intervals of the trucks are observed and yield the following results.
Arrival time Frequency
interval (min) (%)
2 10
3 15
4 30
5 25
6 20

The times taken to load the trucks, which are either 6 or 12 m3 capacity, are fairly constant
at three and five minutes respectively, and both types are equally represented in the fleet.

If the excavator loads each of the trucks immediately it arrives, in the order that it arrives,
calculate the total time that the excavator and trucks will be waiting in any one period of
two hours selected at random.

Solution:

Trucks arrival times can be simulated based on the percentage distributions of the trucks
arrival times by drawing a random number lying in the range represented by the observed
distribution.

Arrival time Frequency Random

interval (min) (%) number
2 10 00-09
3 15 10-24
4 30 25-54
5 25 55-79
6 20 80-99

15
Simulation 50 trucks arrivals. The random numbers are used to determine the arrival time
and type of truck arriving is determined by tossing a coin. Truck type A represents a 6 m3
load and truck type B represents a 12 m3 load.

Random Arrival Type of Clock time of arrival (min

Number Time (min) truck (6m3) (12m3)
89 6 A 6
29 4 B 10
73 5 A 15
50 4 A 19
47 4 B 23
51 4 A 27
32 4 B 31
58 5 A 36
07 2 A 38
49 4 A 42
14 3 A 45
02 2 B 47
26 4 B 51
97 6 B 57
83 6 A 63
47 4 B 67
51 4 A 71
55 5 B 76
92 6 B 82
07 2 B 84
45 4 A 88
85 6 A 94
76 5 A 99
15 3 A 102
78 5 B 107
68 5 A 112
83 6 B 118
33 4 A 122
18 3 B 125
04 2 A 127
11 3 B 130
98 6 A 136
11 3 B 139
18 3 B 142
34 4 B 146
84 6 B 152
47 4 B 156
18 3 B 159
46 4 A 163
71 5 A 168

16
 Random Arrival Type of Clock time of arrival (min
Number Time (min) truck (6m3) (12m3)
53 4 B 172
88 6 B 178
78 5 A 183
30 4 A 187
71 5 A 192
35 4 B 196
96 6 A 202
78 5 B 207
57 5 A 212

Simulation situation at the excavator over a period of two hours.

Arrival Clock time Starts Loading Completes Waiting time Waiting

type of arrival loading time loading of excavator time of
truck (min) (min) (min) (min) (min) truck
(min)
A 06 06 3 09 - -
B 10 10 5 15 1 -
A 15 15 3 18 - -
A 19 19 3 22 1 -
B 23 23 5 28 1 -
A 27 28 3 31 - 1
B 31 31 5 36 - -
A 36 36 3 39 - -
A 38 39 3 42 - 1
A 42 42 3 45 - -
A 45 45 3 48 - -
B 47 48 5 53 - 1
B 51 53 5 58 - 2
B 57 58 5 63 - 1
A 63 63 3 66 - -
B 67 67 5 72 1 -
A 71 72 3 75 - 1
B 76 76 5 81 1 -
B 82 82 5 87 1 -
B 84 87 5 92 - 3
A 88 92 3 95 - 4
A 94 95 3 98 - 1
A 99 99 3 102 1 -
A 102 102 3 105 - -
B 107 107 5 112 2 -
A 112 112 3 115 - -
B 118 118 5 123 3 -
A 122 123 3 126 - 1

17
 Arrival Clock time Starts Loading Completes Waiting time Waiting
type of arrival loading time loading of excavator time of
truck (min) (min) (min) (min) (min) truck
(min)
Total 12min 16min

Waiting time of excavator = 12 mm in two hours

Waiting time of trucks = 16 mm in two hours

The simulation should now be repeated several times, so that the results can be expressed
with more confidence by the use of statistics. With the model established, and mounted on
a computer, the user is in a position to experiment by changing the parameters, e.g. truck
and excavator sizes, inter-arrival times to represent changes in the haul road, conditions etc.

18