Fatigue life estimation of hydraulically actuated mobile working machines using Internet of Things and Digital Twin concepts

Abstract

The method and its implementation are proposed that allow estimating the fatigue life of mechanical structure of hydraulically actuated mobile working machines. The method does not use stress or strain gauges and relies just on the data about the pressure and position of hydraulic cylinders actuating the machine components. These data are measured in real-time during the machine operation and are transmitted via the internet for the processing in the cloud. The simulation model of the machine (Digital Twin) is used for the simulation of machine dynamics on the basis of received data. The Digital twin provides input for the finite-element analysis of machine's components in order to calculate the stress history of each component. The results of these calculations are used for fatigue life estimation of each component. Applicability of the method is tested by comparing its results with the similar simulation verified by experimental measurements.