Loaders and trucks are often used in earthwork projects. In major earth-moving operations, careful selection of the number of machines used and the size of the equipment can produce substantial savings in both time and cost. Currently, the method available for determining the optimum size-number combination for loaders is comparison of all possible alternatives. This is a tedious and time-consuming task, especially if a large volume of soil must be hauled, requiring several loading units. In this study, optimal multiloader-truck fleets are investigated, and sensitivity of the production cost to the key variables is analysed. The cost-capacity and capacity-horsepower relationships for trucks and loaders are investigated by using published equipment specifications and cost data.
Abstract