Development of Wheel Loader Dynamic Simulation Model

This paper presents a 3D dynamic simulation model of a wheel loader. The objective of development of the wheel loader dynamic simulation model is to investigate power flow under both working and driving conditions. The wheel loader dynamic simulation model consists of 3 parts: Vehicle mechanical powertrain module, Hydraulic modules for working and steering, and Vehicle dynamic module. Vehicle powertrain module consists of engine, torque converter and transmission. Hydraulic modules consist of pump, valve, cylinder and attachments. In this paper, hydraulic powertrain is managed only for steering system because this paper has been focused on dynamic analysis of mechanical powertrain and vehicle. Front and rear bodies are connected by pin in the center of steering system. Action/reaction forces and moments applied to the pin are calculated by solving front/rear dynamic simultaneous equations. Forces and moments at the pin are considered to analyze how they have an effect on the dynamics of wheel loader. The wheel loader dynamic simulation model is validated through real measurement, and it is shown that proposed dynamic simulation model can represent actual dynamics of wheel loader.