ABSRTACT

The surge of medium density housing construction have caused builders to rethink
about the use of the construction equipment, and designing such a compact excavation
machine that has higher digging capacities at the same time with smaller dimensions
of the components of the machine. In some cases where homes are built only meters
apart, the mobility of the excavating machines in such compact areas along with the
movement of materials, and the size of the excavating equipment play a crucial role in
excavation. This indicates the urgency in the development of such a compact
excavation equipment or a compact backhoe attachment which has higher digging
depth, dumping height, and digging reach (collectively known as kinematic working
range) with minimum dimensions so that the machine can be easily accommodated in
such compact workspaces (light duty construction work scenario).
Moreover; the unavailability of skilled backhoe operators and the necessity of the
backhoe excavator to be operated in unhealthy and unfriendly environments, have
been critical issues so it has become necessary that the excavation operations should
be made automated by an automatically controlled backhoe system. Such a system is
able to perform autonomously a planned digging work and to quickly comply with
interacting forces experienced during excavation. The development of such an
automated control system is usually based on a mathematical kinematic and dynamic
model of the system that describes the motion with the time.
This research work describes an approach to design the backhoe attachment for
light duty construction work. The work reported in this thesis has developed a unified
approach to deal with each of the issues as mentioned above.
The comprehensive mathematical kinematic model for four degrees of freedom
backhoe mechanism, mathematical static model for four degrees of freedom,
mathematical dynamic model using L-E approach in digging mode (for three degrees
of freedom) that can directly be utilized in the controller design of the backhoe
excavator for autonomous excavation are presented.
3D modeling, resistive force and digging force calculations, FEA performed
without and with welding consideration and structural weight optimization of the 3D
model of backhoe attachment is presented.
Moreover MATLAB codes are developed for kinematics, statics, dynamics,
kinematic working range, generalized breakout and digging force models of backhoe
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excavator and are validated as described in chapter 10. The presented research work
can be promoted to the Earth moving machine manufacturing industries for the
development of such an autonomously operated compact backhoe excavator
attachment for light duty construction work, and the infrastructure development
industries and construction companies can be benefited by the application of such a
developed mini backhoe excavator attachment for their construction work.

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