2016 3rd International Conference on Engineering Technology and Application (ICETA 2016)

ISBN: 978-1-60595-383-0

Structural Strength Analysis of the Loader Working Device Based

on Finite Element Method
Yipin Wan* & Jie Jia
School of Construction Machinery, Changan University, Xian, Shaanxi, China

Xuding Song
Key Laboratory of Road Construction Technology and Equipment of MOE, Changan University, Xian, Shaanxi,
China

ABSTRACT: In order to evaluate the structural strength of loader working device in a comprehensive and ac-
curate way and obtain the position of load spectrum measuring points of the working device of loader, the finite
element model of the working device of ZL50G loader was established with hexahedral elements mesh. The
finite element model was built on the stress analysis of the force model of bucket of the working device. The
finite element strength analysis was carried out on the working device structure of the loader, and the stress value
of the structure under different working conditions was obtained. The locations of the dangerous points of the
working device of the loader were effectively determined. The finite element calculation results showed that: the
partial load condition in shovel digging operation was the most dangerous working condition, and the moving
arm was the largest load-bearing component. The field test was carried out on the working device of loader. The
test results showed that the finite element calculation results were in agreement with the test results. The influ-
ence factors of the strength analysis of the working device under the load condition were defined. It also made it
clear that the action of the lateral force must be taken into account when testing the load spectrum of the working
device. The analysis results provide the reference resources for the load spectrum test and fatigue life analysis
and structure optimization of the working device.

Keywords: loader; working device; structural strength; mechanical model; experimental research

1 INTRODUCTION analysis of the loader working device. In literature [2],

The loader working device is mainly used for loading
and transportation of material, which is influenced by
the gravity of the material and the resistance of the
shovel in operation[1]. In a working cycle, the gestures
of the working device are complicated and changeable,
which lead to complex working conditions. And the
requirements of motion performance in the structural
design of the working device make it more complex.
The change of structural strength of loader working
device will directly affect the work efficiency, opera-
tion device stability and fatigue life of the structure, so
it has important significance for the study of the
structural strength of the loader working device.
At present, many scholars carry on the mechanical
*Corresponding author: 438733130@qq.com
the calculation methods of external load for the
strength analysis of the working device were studied,
and the mathematical equations of the calculation of
the external load were derived. In literature [3], under
different operating conditions, the author analyzed the
dynamic performance of the frame structure of the
loader working device, and got the theoretical calcula-
tion results of the structural strength of the boom arm.
In literature [4], the author established the 3D model
of the working device, and made use of the finite ele-
ment method to obtain the structural stress state. In
literature [5], the author analyzed the change of inten-
sity of the equipment structure under different digging
resistance, and the relationship between the position of
the insertion resistance point position and the strength
of the structure of the working device were obtained.
The connecting rod structures of the working device

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were considered as flexible bodies, and the author
adopted the rigid flexible coupling dynamical analysis
method to simulate the working device of the loader in
literature [6].
The ZL50G loader loading machine is used as the
research object, and the hexahedral unit carries on the
grid division of the working device structure. Contact
element is used to simulate the pin connection of the
structure. The finite element calculation model of
working device is established, and the overall struc-
tural strength of the working device is calculated, and
the location of the structure is obtained. In the sym-
metric load and asymmetric load under two conditions,
calculate the strength of the whole structure of the
working device. Through the testing research, it shows
that the rationality of the results of the structural
strength analysis of the working device is verified.
The errors between the simulation result and the test
result are analyzed, which provide the basis for the
load spectrum test and fatigue life analysis of the
working device.
2 STRUCTURE AND WORKING PRINCIPLE OF
THE LOADER WORKING DEVICE
The loader working device is a kind of machine that
has two four-bar linkage flips, which mainly consists
of one bucket, two bucket cylinders, one connecting
rod, one rocker arm, one movable arm, and one mova-
ble arm oil cylinder. The structural diagram of the
working device is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. The structure diagram of the working device.
The working principle of the working device for
loader is through the action of moving arm cylinder
and bucket cylinder to realize lifting of boom and flip
of bucket. When the bucket is in the shovel position,
the boom cylinder and the bucket cylinder are in the
locked state. Under the interaction with the boom
cylinder and the bucket cylinder, the materials are
loaded into the bucket. After completion of loading,
the bucket cylinder is being locked and the boom cyl-
inder is out. The materials will be lifted to unloading
height after the boom cylinder locked. The bucket
cylinder contracts and material unloading is completed.
When bucket cylinder is in a locked state, moving arm
cylinder begins to shrink, the bucket in the automatic
leveling mechanism goes back to shovel position.
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3 FORCE MODEL OF WORKING DEVICE
The working device of loader is in normal operation
and the shovel material load of the working device
structure is influenced by the external load. It is main-
ly affected by the resistance of insert material and digs
up the material resistance. The operation modes of the
loader can be divided into one-time digging and load-
ing operation method. The multiple shoveling and
loading operation method are as shown in Figure 2
and Figure 3.
Figure2.Theone-time digging and loading operation method.
Figure3. The multiple shoveling and loading
operation method.
Using the one-time digging and loading operation
method, the moving arm cylinder and bucket cylinder
are in a locked state. The bucket over comes the re-
sistance of insert materials and the out bucket cylinder
digs up materials to overcome the resistance. Using
the multiple shoveling and loading operation method,
the boom cylinder and the bucket cylinder are working
at the same time and the bucket overcomes the inser-
tion resistance and digging resistance which comes
from the materials. When the first method is adopted,
the bucket force is relatively large, and be with high
efficiency. When the second method is adopted, the
distance of the bucket into the materials is relatively
shallow and the resistance is far less than the first
method. When the strength of mechanical structure is
checked, the maximum load condition of the structure
is selected. Therefore, when the strength of the struc-
ture of the working device is analyzed, the first load-
ing operation mode is selected. The mathematical
force model of the bucket is shown in Figure 4.
l1 denotes the horizontal distance between force
point and the hinge point of bucket rotation; l2 repre-
sents the horizontal distance between the centroid of
the bucket and the hinge point of the bucket; l3 rep-
resents the vertical distance between the bottom sur-
face of bucket tooth and the bucket rotation hinge
point. F1 denotes the materials resistance inserted into
the working device and F2 represents the material
resistance which is dug up. G denotes the gravity of
the bucket and material.
Figure 4.The force model of bucket of the working device.
According to the following equations[7-8], we can
calculate the material resistance of the loader shovel.
F1 9.8kbl1.25 (1)
1 l l3 l2
F2 1.1F1 0.4 1 G (2)
3 l1 l1 l1 material, unloading process needs to overcome the
where, k is the comprehensive effect of material coef-
ficient; b is the width of bucket; l is the depth that the
bucket into the material.
The structure parameters of ZL50G loader working
device are as follows: k is 0.24; b is 220cm; l is 85cm;
l1 is 133cm; l2 is 48cm; l3 is 31cm. The forces of the
working device of loader are calculated by equation (1)
and (2) as follows: F1= 133.54kN; F2= 155.19kN; G is
50kN. The calculation results provide the load condi-
tions for the finite element analysis of the working
device.
4 NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE
WORKING DEVICE
4.1 The establishment of the finite element model
The wheel loaders working condition is very com-
plex, so the working device of loader suffers random
dynamic loads. According to the structure of operating
parameters of ZL50G loader working device, establish
the three-dimensional model of working device in
PRO/E software, and the 3D model is imported into
ANSYS through the interface between the two soft-
ware data. The 3D model of the working device is
shown in Figure 5.
The material of the working device is 16Mn and its
material properties are as following. Its density is
7850kgm3. The Poissons ratio of the material is 0.3.
Its elastic modulus and yield limit are 2.06e5MPa and
345Mpa, respectively. Proper material features and
entity unit type are used for intellectual finite element
mesh division[9]. Hexahedron elements are used to
mesh the structure of the working device. Sur-
face-to-surface contact element is used for creating the
pin connection.
Figure 5. The three-dimensional model of working
device of loader.
4.2 Typical condition analysis
A loaders operation cycle is divided into four stages:
loading material, unloading materials, heavy load
transport, and no-load transport. Device in material
shoveling process needs to overcome inserted material
resistance and digging material resistance, and in the
gravity of the lifting bucket and material. For the
gravel, stonework and other small particles of materi-
al, the external load of loader working device is sym-
metrical when it is in digging operation, while that is
not symmetrical for the ore particles in the same oper-
ation. The operation cycle of working device can be
divided into five kinds of typical working conditions,
when the one-time digging and loading operation
method is selected to be used. The first one is normal
loading cut-in working condition that the symmetric
loading working is only subject to horizontal re-
sistance when shoveling and loading material. The
second one is normal loading dig-up working condi-
tion that the symmetric loading working is only sub-
ject to vertical resistance. The third one is unbalanced
loading cut-in working condition that the asymmet-
rical loading working is only subject to horizontal
resistance. The fourth one is unbalanced loading
dig-up working condition that the asymmetrical load-
ing working is only subject to vertical resistance. The
fifth one is lifting unloading working condition which
is unloading working when the material is lifted to the
unloading position.
According to JB/T 5958-1991, the full displacement
constraints are applied to the frame under five condi-
tions. The condition one and condition three are ap-
plied load size F1, and the loading point is located in
the center which is 100mm distant from the edge of
bucket. Operating mode two and four are applied ex-
ternal load size F2, load action point is 100mm distant
from the inner wall of bucket and 100mm apart from
the edge of bucket. The external load applied to the
working condition five is G, which is uniformly load-
ed on the bottom of the bucket.
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4.3 The results of finite element calculation
The model was analyzed by simulated actual boundary
condition and loading. According to the typical work-
ing condition analysis, and finite element calculation
of loader working device in ANSYS, five kinds of
conditions of stress calculation results are as shown in
Figure 6.

(e) The result of the fifth condition

Figure 6. The finite element calculation results of structure
stress of working device.

It can be known from Figure 6 that, the maximum

(a) The result of the first condition
stress of the overall working device structure in five
different conditions is calculated. The structure stress
concentration occurred in the cylinder arm is hinged
with the frame in the first condition and the third con-
dition. The stress concentration appears in the dynam-
ic arm frame of working device structure in the re-
maining three kinds of conditions. Each part of work-
ing device of maximum stress values in different con-
ditions are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Finite element calculation results of various

components of the working device.
Maximum stress
Working condition Component name
MPa
Movable arm 160
First condition Rocker arm 21.1
(b) The result of the second condition Connecting rod 70.9
Movable arm 213
Second Rocker arm 57.3
Connecting rod 140
Movable arm 230
Third Rocker arm 40.1
Connecting rod 88.6
Movable arm 271
Fourth Rocker arm 93.6
Connecting rod 217.9
Movable arm 43.4
Fifth Rocker arm 28.1
Connecting rod 15.1

According to the mechanics of materials[10], the

(c) The result of the third condition equation (3) is used to check the structural strength of
the working device.

(d) The result of the fourth condition
s
max (3)
n
where max is the maximum value of stress, [] is the
allowable stress, and n is the safety factor.
When the safety factor is 1.25, the allowable stress
of the loader working device is 276MPa. The results
of finite element calculation for each part of the
working device are shown in Table 1. The stress of
each structure of the working device under the five
working conditions is less than that of the 16Mn,

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which meets the requirement of the strength. But at
the joint point of each hinge point and the boom arm,
the large stress is easy to occur, under the load condi-
tion. The structural stress is significantly higher than
the normal load condition and unloading lifting condi-
tion, which is consistent with the actual situation.
Therefore, from the point of view of the structure
fatigue life, the large stress areas of the hinge point
and the boom arm should be regarded as the focus of
stresses testing experiment.
5 STRESS TEST OF WORKING DEVICE
STRUCTURE
Based on the results of the finite element calculation
of the working device, the stress test points are se-
lected. These points are the large stress points of the
finite element calculation results, which are also the
dangerous points of the structure strength analysis.
Taking the stress test of the moving arm as an exam-
ple, the position arrangement of the movable arm po-
sition is shown in Figure 7.
stress with strain flower). In the test plan, the second
measuring points are the strain flower for the three
axis 45 degree strain rosette. The hydraulic compo-
nents are used to load the loader working device, and
the first four conditions are simulated. The weight is
suspended to simulate the fifth conditions in the
working device of bucket tip. The position and amount
of load are consistent with the finite element analysis
in the previous paper under five conditions. Strain
gauge paste and test are shown in Figure 8.
The maximum principal stress and the minimum
principal stress of the adhesive strain flower on the
working device can be calculated by the equation (4).
1
E x y 1 2 2
2
i x y 245 x y (4)
2 1 u 1 u
where, E and u, respectively are elastic modulus and
Poissons ratio. x,y and 45 are respectively the strain
values in the horizontal, vertical and 45 degree direc-
tion.
The results of stress test are compared with the fi-
nite element calculation of the working device, as
shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Comparison of experimental and simulation results.

Experimental Simulation
Working Error
Point result result
condition
MPa MPa %
1 92.13 89.12 3.27
2 60.67 58.46 3.65
First 3 121.09 117.61 2.87
4 78.91 76.4 3.18
5 53.62 52.33 2.41
1 161.68 156.2 3.39
2 113.39 109.1 3.78
Second 3 148.10 143.6 3.04
4 50.75 49.27 2.91
5 84.44 81.7 3.24
1 120.23 115.3 4.1
2 148.07 141.1 1.71
Third 3 200.27 194.4 2.93
Figure 7. Scheme of measuring points. 4 86.03 82.89 3.65
5 54.86 53.03 3.33
1 247.37 235.4 4.82
2 210.57 197.3 6.3
Fourth 3 168.92 159.4 5.64
4 97.33 93.23 4.22
5 68.54 65.76 4.05
1 15.08 14.76 2.14
2 19.82 19.33 2.48
Fifth 3 43.26 42.38 2.03
4 28.11 27.61 1.79
5 9.98 9.82 1.6

As shown in Table 3, the stress value of the test

Figure 8. Stress test chart of the working device.
The stress test of the loader working device is car-
ried out by sticking the strain gauge or the strain
flower (one-way stress with strain gauge; complex
structure is not quite different from that calculated by
the finite element method. The errors of the results
between the test and the finite element are in the range
1.6%~6.3%, in the scope of the project license. It
shows that the established mechanical analysis model
of the working device is reasonable and the structural

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load test points of the working device are accurate and
effective. The maximum stress of the moving arm
structure occurs in label for measurement near the
point 3, except the hinge holes areas. This position is
also the location of the fatigue crack of the working
device, which should be paid attention to in the analy-
sis of fatigue life. Under the same working condition,
the error of measuring point 2 is larger than that of
other measuring points because of the special structure
of the strain flower, which causes the measurement
error of the strain gauge is larger than that of the strain
gauge[11]. The errors of the third and fourth conditions
are significantly greater than the first and second con-
dition. Under the condition of unsymmetrical loading,
the arm is subjected to lateral force. Thats why the
third and fourth kinds of working conditions have
large errors for the results. It is also required that the
action of the lateral force must be taken into account
when testing the load spectrum of the working device.
6 CONCLUSION
Based on the analysis results of the external load of
the material loading process of the working device, the
working device of the bucket force model has been
established. The forces needed by the finite element
analysis are obtained through the formula calculation.
These load dates can reflect the stress of the loader of
the working device during the working process.
Five kinds of working conditions are determined,
and the strength of the overall structure of the working
device is analyzed. The maximum stress of the work-
ing device is 271MPa that is less than the allowable
stress of the material. The stress value of the structure
under the eccentric load is significantly higher than
the normal load condition, and the partial load condi-
tion is a dangerous condition. The large stress areas of
the working device appear in the boom arm frame and
the vicinity of each hinge hole, so as to determine the
pilot test of the external load of the working device
By loading machine structure stress test, the simula-
tion model of working device is verified and the buck-
et force model is reasonable and reliable. The errors
between the test results and the finite element calcula-
tion results are 1.6%~7.3%, and it is clear that the
lateral force is the influence factor that cannot be ig-
nored in the strength analysis of the working device
under the partial load condition. The analysis results
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can be used as a reference for the load spectrum test
and fatigue life analysis of the working device of
loader.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors wish to acknowledge the support from the
National Key Technology Research and Development
Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of
China(GN:2015BAF07B02) and the support from the
Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Univer-
sities(GN: 310825163407, GN: 310825151045, GN:
310825161005).
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