Effects of using UHSS material for weight reduction of Cukurova 885 model backhoe loader boom element

Abstract

Construction machines have played an important role in building and sustaining civilizations in all walks of human life by making human life easier for centuries. These heavy machines consume a lot of fuel due to their high energy consumption and cause severe damage to the environment. Studies are being conducted to avoid harmful gas emissions due to fuel consumption of vehicles. One of the methods used in these studies is weight reduction. In this study, the fuel saving achieved by weight reduction with the material change in the boom element of a backhoe loader was investigated. The 3D model of the boom element of the backhoe loader model Cukurova885 was used for the study. The Ansys Workbench Software was used for the study. The weight of the reference model was reduced by reducing the dimensions of the reference model by using Ansys Spaceclaim in the software. Ultra-High Strength Steel with the same density but higher strength was used instead of the ST52 material currently used. The structural analyzes were carried out using the finite element method by applying exactly the same loads to the ST52 reference model and the weight-reduced UHSS model. In the study, thickness reductions on the model were made in Ansys Space Claim, a component of Ansys Workbench Software. In the Space Claim component, changes can be made to the geometry of a model imported into Ansys. For static structural analysis, Ansys Mechanical, a component of Ansys Software, was used. The model, whose thickness and therefore its weight is reduced in Space Claim, is opened in Mechanical, the necessary parameters are entered and it is prepared for analysis. Afterwards, analysis is performed via Ansys Mechanical. Comparing the results obtained, it was found that the weight of the model decreased by 23.16% and a fuel saving of 16.49% was achieved by using UHSS. Higher deformation and stress values were obtained for the model with UHSS. The safety factor was found to be 1.22 for the ST52 model and 2.14 for the UHSS model.