Analysis and Optimisation of Obstacle-Crossing Performance of Electric Shovel Based on DEM-MBD Coupling Method

Abstract

To study and enhance the obstacle-crossing performance of the electric shovel, an obstacle-crossing model that employs a coupling methodology integrating the discrete element method (DEM) and multi-body dynamics (MBD) is constructed. Secondly, the influence of grouser height (GH), track velocity (TV), slope inclination (SI) and slope height (SH) on obstacle-crossing performance is investigated through DEM-MBD simulation, with the objective of obtaining an obstacle-crossing surrogate model through the Kriging method and Box-Behnken experimental design. On this basis, two optimisation solutions for the obstacle-crossing performance of the electric shovel are proposed based on a genetic algorithm (GA), and the corresponding obstacle-crossing performances are analysed. The results demonstrate that the coupling effect between SI and SH exerts a considerable influence on the ground pressure coefficient (GPC), power and disturbance potential energy (DPE). When the optimal TV and GH are set at 0.1 m/s and 9.38 mm, the GPC, power and disturbance kinetic energy (DKE) are observed to diminish to varying degrees, thereby indicating that the obstacle-crossing performance of the electric shovel has been enhanced.