Title: Determination of the cutting resistance model of soil

Authors: Jozef Karol Szymanski; Saleh Balideh; Raymond S. Suglo; Stefan Planeta

Addresses: School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. ' School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. ' University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana. ' Laval University, Quebec, Canada

Abstract: Excavation methods depend on the rock conditions, location, etc. This paper investigated the penetration of an excavator blade into soil. Finite element modelling using the ABAQUS software and analytical methods were used to predict the horizontal forces due to blade movement with varying soil parameters such as friction angle, cohesion coefficient, and angle between soil and blade. The results obtained from the numerical and analytical models compare favourably with each other in the prediction of soil cutting resistance. The depth of soil, internal friction angle and cohesion coefficient were found to be directly related to the cutting resistance of soil.

Keywords: cutting resistance; finite element method; FEM; modelling; soil excavation; friction angle; excavator blades; blade penetration; cohesion coefficient; soil cutting.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMME.2011.043850

International Journal of Mining and Mineral Engineering, 2011 Vol.3 No.3, pp.220 - 232

Published online: 24 Nov 2011 *

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