Dozer Workability Estimation Method for Economic Dozing

Abstract

This paper presents a computational method called the dozer workability estimation (DoWe) system. It collects the internal system variables of a dozer machine and the external system environment variables, calculates the engine output loss attributed to these variables, identifies the optimal set of forward and reverse gears that maximizes its economic performance, and computes the gradeability with the gears. This study is of significance to earthwork managers because the method identifies the optimal solution that minimizes the cycle time, thus establishing an earthwork plan that satisfies expense-related and time-related project constraints. This study is also relevant to researchers in that it allows investigation of the variability of cycle time and productivity attributed to the changes in the system attributes. The usability and validity of the DoWe was confirmed experimentally for a test case of a straight shuttle dozing operation administered by the focus group of earthwork managers.