Abstract:
Manual overburden excavation is a tedious process. The report presents the design of an overburden soil stripping machine based on the principles of mechanical engineering. The components and sub-processes involved in the design are backup by literature presented by different scholars and engineers. Literature has many alternatives for solving a similar problem or designing a particular component but the most relevant and crucial ones towards the current design have been selected. The forces acting on the cutting tool have been computed based on the soil parameters detailed by the fundamental earthmoving equation and the computed force value of 33.9 N was used to select an appropriate material (Reinforced steel) to minimize breakage, wear, and tear. The prototype was designed to run on a 9hp petrol engine and to excavate 3.534 tons of soft material, 2.718 tons of medium hard material, and 1.698 tons of hard material in the same interval of time (1 hour) with efficiencies of 86.7%, 75.8%, and 60.1% respectively. Overall, the project will excavate and load material in a single process, overcoming the common cyclic excavation and loading procedures and as well the elementary modes of overburden soil stripping.
Keywords: Overburden soil, stripping, soil characterization, prototype, FEE, excavator.
