Author(s)

H. Andou, T. Katayama, T. Koizumi, N. Tsujiuchi & S. Enoki

Abstract

This paper introduces a new approach to analyse the dynamics of spot-welded thin-wall structures with the aid of beam elements. The study is focused on a cabin structure for hydraulic excavators. The cabin main frame consists of complex shape section profiles manufactured by spot welding of sheet metal parts. In order to be able to predict the overall stiffness and vibration behavior of the cabin structure from the early concept design stage, a simplified beam model is proposed. At first, tests and analyses of twisting and impact conditions are performed on the spot-welded profiles to determine their stiffness and damping ratio with high accuracy. Then, the torsional stiffness and damping ratio derived by the proposed analytical procedure based on the experimental data are applied into the beam elements of the simplified cabin model. In order to validate the simplified cabin model, static load and impact tests are done on the actual cabin structure. The agreement between the calculated results and the experimental data confirms that the simplified beam model of the cabin and the proposed procedure can be used from the early design stage to calculate the overall deformation of spot-welded thin wall structures. 1 Introduction The main frame of a hydraulic excavator cabin is designed using various profiles with complex shape section, manufactured by spot-welding of sheet metal parts. When the layout of the cabin on the chassis is established, the overall deformation of the cabin must be known in order to decide the clearances between the cabin and the surrounding components. However, the analysis

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