Fatigue Life Analysis of the Grabber Working Device under the Compound Action

In this study, the problem that it is difficult to predict the fatigue life of the grabber working device under the compound action is studied by establishing virtual prototype simulation. Firstly, the boom and the bucket of the grabber are taken as the research targets, and the oil pressure of each cylinder and hydraulic rotary motor are measured during the arm lifting and rotation phase, where is the highest force and the most complex movement. Secondly, in order to acquire the force at each hinge point of the working device, the model of the grabber is established in Solidworks, ANSYS APDL is used to create the flexible body of boom and bucket, and the grabber rigid-flexible coupling virtual prototype is established with ADAMS for dynamic simulation. Finally, the fatigue life simulation of the grabber’s boom and bucket is carried out by ANSYS nCode DesignLife. The results show that the position most prone to fatigue failure is the transition of the bucket upper plate and the connection between the cylinder support on side a of the boom and the side plate, as well as the life of these position, which provides the basis for the optimization design of the grabber working device later.