Lifting and parallel lifting optimization by using sensitivity and fuzzy set for an earthmoving mechanism

Abstract

Earthmoving equipment in motor graders, which can be considered to be complex multibody systems (MBSs), are critical components for earthwork, compaction and re-handling. They have not yet received much attention due to their unusual applications and complicated structures. In this paper, a comprehensive study of an earthmoving MBS, from the mechanism identification and sensitivity analysis to the multi-objective optimization, is presented. First, the earthmoving MBS is identified to be a six degrees-of-freedom spatial hybrid mechanism, where a three revolute-revolute-prismatic-spherical (RRPS) and one spherical subchain (so, RRPS-S) spatial parallel mechanism is the key subsystem, through the mechanism analysis and synthesis. An earthmoving virtual prototyping model is built according to the system topology and connectivity. The kinematic simulations are carried out by imposing corresponding driving functions. Afterwards, the sensitivity analysis is introduced to extract several most relevant design variables from the global ones. A multi-objective optimization process is carried out to improve working performance, where fuzzy sets are used to define different objectives. Results show that the optimal earthmoving mechanism provides better lifting and parallel lifting capabilities.