Research on Vibration Damping of Tuned Mass Damper for Wheeled Excavator

Abstract

Background: When driving and working, the engine, working equipment and uneven road surface will cause severe vibrations to the wheeled excavator, which can affect efficiency and comfort. This paper discusses various patents and presents a new method of vibration reduction for excavators. Objective: The research aims to design the excavator's counterweight as a tuned mass damper (TMD) to reduce body vibration. Methods: The recent patents of TMD were investigated in this research. In this paper, the counterweight of the excavator is designed as a non-linear TMD system. The vibration models were established under the driving and crushing conditions, respectively. The vibration response of the vehicle body was calculated and analyzed through MATLAB/Simulink under driving and crushing conditions. Finally, the damping characteristics of the TMD system were discussed. Results: The vibration of the car body can be reduced by TMD. The improvement rates in vertical acceleration were 8.05%, 11.85% and 11.15% for the three classes of road surfaces for the driving conditions. The improvement rates of vertical accelerations for the three powers of crushing conditions are 16.18%, 18.32% and 23.48%, respectively. Conclusion: The vibration damping performance of the excavator was effectively improved by TMD in the main working conditions. The variation of body vertical acceleration with TMD parameters indicates the existence of optimal damping characteristics parameters for the TMD system at a fixed road surface and vehicle speed.