A FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF THE MECHANICAL-STRUCUTURAL BEHAVIOR OF THE CHASSIS OF OFF-ROAD DUMP TRUCKS

Resumo

This work deals with a finite element analysis of the displacement fields on the chassis of an off-road dump truck operating under various loading conditions. The numerical procedure is capable of predicting the stress and strain fields on the chassis subject to dynamic loads derived from different road roughness profiles during some typical maneuvers performed by a truck on mining sites. Experimental data of the suspension pressure measurements captured from four off-road dump trucks CAT 775G are used to reproduce the unpaved road conditions in this work. Some critical points of the chassis are selected to evaluate the cycling stresses, which are employed to perform a linear fatigue analysis of the chassis. The predictions of the stress fields permit to study the mechanical-structural integrity of the chassis of the off-road truck operating with and without dumping loads. The results rendered in this work depict the stress curves of some points of the truck chassis and estimates of its fatigue life for actual operating conditions, providing technical data for the maintenance program of this type of vehicle.