Modeling of an Automatic Excavation Mechanism for a Parallelepiped Foundation - Application in Building Construction Preparation

Abstract

Foundation excavation and general earthworks are activities that involve the machine operator in a series of repetitive and tedious operations, suggesting opportunities for automation through by the introduction of robotic technologies with subsequent improvements in the design and machine use, especially, in dangerous environments working. Automation of excavation operations can be realized by an automatically controlled excavator system that is able to perform autonomously a planned digging work. In this study, a modeling of an excavation mechanism has been represented, where the purpose is to automatically excavate a parallelepiped-shaped foundation. From existing excavation machinery in the industry, the manipulator arm of a backhoe was chosen to do the modeling. Starting from the basic input geometric parameters of the foundation to be excavated, the system gives as outputs results: A simulation of the various mechanism components movement, in addition to the automatic excavation trajectory of the parallelepiped foundation. Finally, from the soils properties of the western region of Algeria that they were measured experimentally, a resistance simulation of the various components of the mechanism was carried, to test the reliability of the mechanism in terms of deformation and Von Mises stress.