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Missouri University of Science and Technology

The effect of overloading on reliability of wheel loader structural components

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>"This research attempts to provide a fundamental understanding into the relationship between the productivity of material handling equipment, specifically wheel loaders, and their ability to operate reliably when subjected to high overload conditions. The overall aim is to determine the effect of overloading the bucket on wheel loader reliability. The specific objectives of the research are to: 1) evaluate the effect of overloading the bucket on wheel loader productivity; 2) examine the effect of overloading the bucket on hydraulic pressures in the hoist cylinders (used as a proxy for forces on a wheel loader); and 3) investigate the effect of overloading the bucket on the reliability of structural components of a wheel loader.</p><p>To achieve these objectives, the research used data from on-board equipment monitors from the global fleet of ultra-class wheel loaders for a specific original equipment manufacturer to test the various research hypotheses. The data included production data, failure and repair data, and hydraulic cylinder pressures, which were used as a proxy for stresses on structural components. ANOVA and Pearson and Spearman correlations tests were performed on data samples to test the hypotheses. Duty-cycle relationships were established using linear life stress relationships ratios for the wheel loaders structural components. The research showed that, while higher bucket loads increase productivity, there is evidence that they slow down the loading cycle, may be detrimental to productivity. The hoist cylinder pressure increased with increasing payload weight. The reliability of the structural components was similar in both the standard and duty-cycle cases; although, the accuracy of the reliability models increased when the models accounted for duty-cycles"--Abstract, page iii.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Ph. D. in Mining Engineering
Grantor
Missouri University of Science and Technology

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Achelpohl, Eric Raymond

Subjects

dc:subject × 6

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholarsmine.mst.edu:doctoral_dissertations-3660

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Base URL
scholarsmine.mst.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Achelpohl, Eric Raymond. The effect of overloading on reliability of wheel loader structural components. Missouri University of Science and Technology, https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/doctoral_dissertations/2655