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790538

Development of Off-Highway
Articulated Dump Trucks
D. J. B. Brown
and R. J. Heather
D.J.B. Engineering Ltd.

Earthmoving Industry Conference

Central Illinois Section
Peoria, IL
April 23-25, 1979
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ISSN 0148-7191
Copyright © 1979 Society of Automotive Inc.
Engineers,
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790538

Development of Off-Highway
Articulated Dump Trucks
D. J. B. Brown
and R. J. Heather
D.J.B. Engineering Ltd.

DURING the last few years, there has been truly adverse ground conditions. A major
growing world wide interest in the subject objective of articulated truck design is to
of off-highway articulated trucks. More add "operational reliability" to the
recently, the increasing number of accepted mechanical reliability of the
manufacturers, combined with the articulated established conventional hauling systems.
truck's greater payloads, speeds and (Fig. 1)
customer acceptance, have firmly established This paper sets out the evolution of the
this machine as a viable alternative to both articulated truck and the limitations of some
conventional rigid frame trucks and wheel of the designs. In doing this, major design
tractor scrapers. To bring SAE members up problems encountered will be discussed.
to date on this recent trend, a review of Finally, the benefits associated with this
the articulated truck's evolution, development concept, compared with alternative off
and benefits is considered in this paper. highway hauling units, will be outlined.
Since the subject of articulated dump WHY ARTICULATED DUMP TRUCKS?
trucks may be relatively unfamiliar to the In recent years, available world wide
majority of SAE members, this paper is sales statistics show that there have been
intentionally an attempt to provide a some 4000 - 4500 off-highway trucks sold
general introduction to the whole subject. annually in the 18 - 40 ton payload range.
Hopefully this will then be a benchmark for Df these, 1200 - 1300 are now articulated
further discussions at a later date. trucks. Indeed, in the size class of under
The basic concepts of rigid frame trucks 30 tons, the articulated dump truck already
and wheel tractor scrapers have existed in outsells the rigid frame version;
the construction industry for many years. What has caused this very significant
Both types of machine are now very reliable growth in the proportion of sales accounted
and although many performance improvements for by articulated trucks? One of the major
have been made (faster speeds, better brakes, factors has been changes taking place in the
increased operator comfort, etc.), one major earthmoving industry itself.
problem still remained - reliability in With the large world wide increase in
operation, i.e. the ability to maintain major construction and mining projects which
efficient production in poor weather and took place in the period after 1945, the

ABSTRACT

Articulated dump trucks have developed DJB articulated trucks. Some of the major
along a multiplicity of lines for diverse design features reviewed include suspension,
applications and reasons. tires, weight distribution, stability and
Past, present and future developments manoeuvrability, together with mechanical
and applications are reviewed, including the and operational comparisons with other
Author's experiences in the development of hauling systems.

0148-7191/79/0423-0538$02.50
Copyright © 1979 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
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2 790538

needs of contractors for increased Aunit to work in adverse underfoot conditions

performance and greater productivity were (reducing downtime and profit losses
generally kept pace with by equipment due to bad weather and so improving total
manufacturers. The need to move more was fleet annual utilisation). 5.
catered for by larger capacity units and the A unit which would reduce the size or number
need to do it faster was helped by of ancil iary equipment needed on site
developments in weight/horsepower ratios, (dozers, graders, etc). 6.
suspension, etc. Ahauling unit with significantly longer tire
The last few years however have seen a life and lower tire operating costs. So
marked decline in most parts of the world the changes in the size and nature of
in both the actual volume of construction work available were encouraging contractors
projects and particularly the number of to look more closely at the way in
large jobs being let. Coupled with the which they did their jobs and to examine alternative
rapid escalation in construction machinery equipment to see whether it better
costs and the relatively stable prices met the needs of the 1970's earth mover.
obtained for each ton moved, contractors The
have been forced to look more closely at
hauling unit cost/ton, annual machine second major factor encouraging the
utilisation (which has been steadily development of articulated off-highway trucks
declining in recent years - due mostly to has been the increasing use of the hydraulic
the shorter working week) and the excavator for truck loading. Contractors
versatility of their fleet to handle the rapidly found that the excavator is
greater variety of smaller, shorter duration an "al -weather" loader, capable of working in
jobs which are available. virtually all conditions and in all materials.
A new set of user requirements seemed If the economics and performance capabilities
to be developing - particularly in Europe which of the hydraulic excavator were to
were not completely catered for by existing be maximised, it was soon realised that the
hauling unit systems. These appeared design features of trucks had to change. In
to be: 1. fact, the off-highway truck had to be made
Increasedmachine versatility (ability to weather-proof, to provide a more versatile
work economically on small or large jobs). 2. truck/loader team able to work more hours/days
Broadmaterial appetite (from rock to mud). and more days/year. Since
3. initial use of large hydraulic excavators
Maximumcompatibility with all types of loading as production loaders was largely a
equipment (wheel + track loaders, hydraulic European phenomenon (in the late 1960's, early
excavators, draglines, etc.) together 1970's), this largely explains why the articulated
with the ability to be loaded by varying truck made its initial impact in
sizes of equipment (to improve truck/loader Europe. (Fig.
match versatility). 4. 2)
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790538
3
The increasing use of hydraulic Each of these systems has a combination
excavators world wide in the last few years of advantages and disadvantages in
has gone hand-in-hand with the growing meeting the needs of the user. These are
international interest in the articulated summarized in Table 2.
truck concept and its ability to better To this list the rigid frame truck
meet the changing world earthmoving needs. must of course be added, since its
EVOLUTION DF ARTICULATED TRUCKS performance features and disadvantages also
The above then was the industry helped shape the development of the current
background which has so far encouraged range of articulated trucks.
some half-a-dozen manufacturers into the The challenge for the various design
articulated truck market. All of these are teams has been to produce a machine that
European-based companies, but there are would retain all the major advantages of
known to be several other manufacturers the above concepts, while overcoming
with prototypes under development who may their disadvantages, with the object of
enter the market shortly. meeting the changing world wide user
Virtually all the existing articulated requirements outlined previously.
trucks have been developed from one or more DESIGN PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
of three basic predecessors:- (See Table 1) Articulated dump truck design problems
which are not normally associated with
(a)The farm tractor and powered trailer conventional dump trucks fall mainly into
combination. the following areas:
(b)An earthmoving front tractor (wheel or 1.Suspension
track) and a non-powered scraper bowl or 2.Fitment of larger tires
wagon. 3.Weight distribution on axle(s)
(c)Special two axle low profile underground 4.
Stability
mining machines. 5.Drive line distribution
SUSPENSION - To be effective the
suspension must eliminate lope and reduce
bounce and pitching motion without reducing,
and if possible, improving lateral stability.
OJB have achieved these conflicting
requirements with a unique suspension system
which has the additional virtue of simplicity.
A 3 axle truck is inherently more stable on
both axis than a 2 axle and the power
requirement is lower on rough roads. This
is due to the reduced side sway of the load.
Considering first the rear axle
suspension (Fig.
3 depicting oscillating rear axle)
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4 790538

The axle moves upwards and rearwards as struts, two on each side. This has the
the tire strikes an obstruction in the road. added advantages of damping the system and
The other rear axle moves downwards and giving a 4 point load distribution into the
forwards to compensate. There is no rear box frame. On both systems, tie bars
tendancy to dig in and hop as is the case restrain the side movement of the axles.
with conventional tandem axle suspension (Fig. 4)
and there is the further advantage that all The next element of the suspension
pivots are above the axle center line and system is the center pivot which in
thus well clear of abrasive dirt. The rear addition to enabling 90° steering movement,
axles are linked on each side longitudinally provides 36° longitudinal rotation between
for improved lateral stability. On DJB's front and rear frame sections. (Fig. 5)
smaller trucks (up to 35 tons payload) this This reduces vertical movement in the
is done mechanically by a balancing beam. suspension system needed to surmount large
On our larger trucks this is effected by obstacles and at the same time practically
hydraulically linking 4 oil suspension eliminates tortional stresses in the frame
which reduces unladen weight and cost.
Front axle suspension represented a
major challenge due to the lateral stability
problems which would occur if the distance
from the center line of the front axle to
the center pivot was increased to enable
use of a drive shaft of adequate length
allowing sufficient vertical movement of the
axle without excess drive shaft bearing
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790538 5
angularity. This problem was solved by The front axle suspension system is
causing the axle to rotate about a point self-levelling as is the rear, giving a
equi-distant from the input drive shaft constant ride height regardless of load
bearings and on their center line, causing carried. To achieve this, oil is admitted
them to operate as a constant velocity joint. or expelled from the suspension struts via
Lateral movement of the axle would have the truck's main hydraulic system. No extra
accentuated stability and installation pumps are required. An increase of load on
problems. It is prevented by a tortionally the front axle causes oil to be displaced
resistant "A" frame mounted rigidly on the from the suspension cylinders to the
front axle and connected to the front frame nitrogen accumulator and visa versa. To
by two laterally in-line pivots, (on the compensate for this a valve which senses
center line of the input drive shaft.) the level of the axle in relation to the
However, full lateral movement is still frame allows oil to flow into (under pressure)
provided by the 360° rotation possible or out of, the high pressure side of the
between the front and rear frames. system. The low pressure (rod side) of the
Suspension systems of varying complexity system is constantly charged at return line
were experimented with by DJB and the least pressure. The suspension control valve must
complex system gave the best results. An have the following features:
oil-nitrogen system is used. (Fig. 6) (a)Not admit or expell oil during normal
The nitrogen spring (accumulator) is operation of the suspension system.
external to the 2 hydraulic cylinders which (b)Ditto during acceleration (causes the
are placed between the axle and front frame. front of the vehicle to rise) and braking
The laterally stiff "A" frame enables one ( vehicle dips).
nitrogen accumulator to serve both suspension (c)Sense when the axle has moved in
struts. Damping is achieved by careful relation to the frame (when neither (a) nor
selection of hydraulic pipe sizes without (b) above have applied) and admit extra oil
any extra valves. under pressure or expel it, dependant on
The rod rebound sides of the hydraulic which way the axle has moved.
struts are connected to the main hydraulic Condition (a) is dealt with by a signal
return line systems. This high-flow, low time delay of 5 seconds which allows normal
pressure line (30 psi) keeps the rebound suspension movements to take place without
control fully charged and helps to ensure a the control valve being actuated.
rapid elimination of the spring energy. Condition (b) calls for a signal
Energy dissipation must be rapid to interuption during braking and acceleration.
eliminate loping tendancies. The long pipe When neither (a) nor (b) occur the valve
runs between the suspension struts and operates in a normal way. The driver can
hydraulic accumulator effectively dissipate over-ride the system to raise or lower the
both energy and associated heat. vehicle to reduce load-over-height or for
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790538
6
passing under an obstacle or to improve 360° Longitudinal Rotation between front
service access. and rear frame sections, which considerably
TIRES - The space required in the increases relative axle and tire displacement
vehicle envelope for tires is virtually without causing the tires to move unduly
doubled by using relatively low pressure relative to their frame location, when the
tires (45-50 psi) compared with the high trucks pass over rough terrain.
pressure tires found on conventional dump Dump Body deep V section which lowers
trucks. the C of G and body height and enables more
Additionally DJB has chosen to vertical tire displacement on the rear axles
conservatively rate its tires, which again than would be permitted with a flat bottomed
increases the space needed relative to dump body with the same load C of G.
conventionla trucks (or scrapers). (Fig. 8)
Despite the tire space problems, DJB Self-levelling Front Suspension which
articulated trucks have longer total maintains the same relationship between the
suspension travel, lower load-over-heights axle and frame loaded and empty. This
and smaller turning circles than conventional reduces the tire clearance space required
trucks of similar load capacity. by using the same space loaded and empty.
This is achieved by a combination of WEIGHT DISTRIBDTION - In an articulated
factors as follows: dump truck this is of paramount importance
Articulated Steering which eliminates to traction, stability and vehicle economics.
the need to turn any wheel relative to its It is very difficult to achieve equal axle
vertical axis, which would have doubled the loading on a two-axle truck and if it were
space needed for at least two of the six achieved, with an articulated truck, then
tires. lateral stability would be adversely affected.
Articulated Frames which reduces the The 3 axle configuration virtually eliminates
outside turning circle and increases the the problem by allowing 2/3 of the total
inside turning circle (to minimize aisle weight to be on the rear section. Movement
width requirements), which in turn permits an of the engine and transmission forwards
increase in vehicle and body length, reducing increases weight on the front axle and
load- over- height. reduces that on the rear axles, enabling more
[Fig. 7) of the load to be carried on the rear axle.
If this is carried to extremes then
instability will occur in the unladen
condition when on full turn particularly
if the dump body is raised.
STABILITY - Longitudinal stability is
much superior to a rigid frame truck due to
the relative wheelbase being about 50%
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790538
7
longer statically and double that dynamically awareness of the design versatility and
(due to the effect of the longitudinally benefits of articulation has meant the
coupled tandem axles). Lateral stability opening up of significant new applications.
is inherently lower than standard trucks due Articulated trucks are increasingly
to the longer, narrower configuration; being found now in underground mining
wider, lower pressure tires and the articulated (Fig. 11) and tunnelling, industrial
steering. It was therefore necessary to applications, quarries, sanitary landfill,
correct this adverse tendancy by: sand and gravel operations, etc. The
(a)Reducing the C of G of the load (longer, introduction of suspension (allowing faster
lower deep V body);
(b)Tandem axle suspension not cross linked
(reduces side sway);
(c)Front axle suspension without longitudinal
oscillation (reduces side sway);
(d)Articulated steering center offset
towards front axle (reduces C of G movement
from center line of vehicle when on full
turn).
DRIVE LINE DISTRIBUTION - The drive
line must pass through the articulation pivot
to provide a driven rear axle(s) and in the
case of the DJB trucks it must allow 360°
longitudinal rotation as well as 45 lateral
rotation on either side of the center line.
This is achieved by a compact fabrication
which embodies vertical and horizontal pivots
together with steering cylinder locations
and 4 wheel drive disconnect. The location
of the longitudinal pivot in the frame
improves stability over the alternative
front axle location.
BENEFITS OF ARTICULATION - Having largely
overcome the design problems of their
predecessors, today's articulated trucks
retain all their major advantages (traction,
flotation, manoeuvrability etc.) but also
provide additional user benefits in terms of
improved stability, suspension, reduced tire
costs, lower load-over-height, etc.
(Fig. 9)
Initially, the articulated truck
concept found its primary application in
earthmoving, in areas of poor underfoot
(often combined with steep grades) on short
hauls. (Fig. 10) However, growing customer
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haul road speeds) combined with the low

pressure radial tires, mean that these
trucks are now economic on longer haul
distances. The recent introduction of 35
and 55 ton models (Fig. 12) means the
advantages of articulated trucks can be used
on larger jobs also.
In addition, the facility with which
the design can be converted into more
specialised haul units, such as log/pipe
carriers (Fig. 13), coal bodies, dual
steering derivatives, etc., will continue
to provide a growing world market for
articulated trucks.
SUMMARY
Articulated trucks currently manufactured
now range in size from 18 to 55 tons payload.
In fact, the design concept has developed so
rapidly in the last 2 years that a
proliferation of choice now exists between
2 and 3 axle units (Fig. 14), 2, 4 or 6
wheel drive, suspension systems, ROPS/FOPS
cabs, etc.
The future will undoubtedly see more
manufacturers and larger articulated trucks.
In fact, the articulated truck's advantages adverse conditions, has been a very
of improved manoeuvrability, low load-over significant contribution of the articulated
height and improved tire life, may prove truck to the industry. Certainly it has
of more benefit to users of large trucks allowed users world wide to tackle in a
than they have done to those already using conventional manner jobs that previously
the smaller articulated trucks. would have been uneconomic or impossible.
The concept has undoubtedly been shown
to be economic in a wide variety of The open question now is whether the
applications. The benefit of "operational articulated truck will take as large a
reliability" providing the potential for share of the over 35 ton truck sales as
continued production of the whole site in it has of the under 30 ton.
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