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In Earth Moving Machines, performance of an attachments play crucial role in determining the machine performance. Application of the machine is one of the main factors to be considered for bucket design. Different types of buckets are offered in the market to suit the particular application. Trenching, digging, moving loose material are some of the operations done with the backhoe bucket. While operating in these areas bucket handles intact soil, granules, loose rocks etc. Properties of these materials play important role in bucket design methodology. In this paper efforts are made towards understanding the properties of soil along with soil failure mechanism and utilizing these inputs to design a backhoe bucket for better machine productivity. Mathematical modeling and Discrete Element Modeling (DEM) are the tools used for design and validation of this work.

Earth moving machines are steered using various steering methodology. Articulated steering mechanism is the most popular type of steering methods. It is actuated by hydraulic cylinders connected to the steering linkages. While the machine is deployed with articulated type steering, vehicle stability is proportionate to the steering velocity. Articulated steering provides two important features, shorter turning radius, allows front and back axle to be solid. Directional stability refers to a vehicle’s ability to stabilize its direction of motion against disturbances. Majority of earth moving equipment operates on basic cycle of Load-Haul-Dump. During each cycle, vehicle needs to be steered at least once. To optimize the machine performance for improved productivity it is essential to study the correlation between articulation speed and operational weight of the vehicle.