Parametric design and numerical modelling of tiller attachment used in demining

It is estimated that there are one hundred million square kilometers of mined areas in all over the world. Mine clearance activities are carried out in order to bring the mined lands to the economy and to eliminate their social effects. Mine clearance is both very costly and takes a long time when it is performed with traditional methods such as searching and clearing with mine detectors. On the other hand, manual cleaning also carries vital risks. In recent years, remotely controlled machines have been used for demining. With these machines, both anti-tank and anti-personnel mines are cleared very effectively, quickly and without any risk. These machines clear the soil by forging with hammers attached to chains, digging the soil with a tiller attachment or detonating mines with heavy rollers. Within the scope of the thesis, the design parameters of the tiller attachment and mine clearing machine, which are generally used in heavy working conditions, are emphasized. Remote-controlled demining machines are generally diesel engine driven, tracked vehicles with hydrostatic transmission system. It does not carry any security risk as the operator commands the machine from a safe area. Demining vehicles clear mines by detonating them. For this reason, it is very important that the areas closest to the mine, that is, the attachment area, have to be resistant to blast loading in order to the cleaning is sustainable. Within the scope of the thesis, physical behavior of blast loads, examination of finite element method and Lagrange-Euler approximations and comparison of different numerical calculation methods with experimental data were performed. On the other hand, an analytical calculation method has been developed for the variation of the behavior of the tiller tool against the operational parameters and the kinematics of the tiller tool. At the same time, the interaction of the tiller equipment with the soil was modeled with the finite element method and the results were compared with the analytical calculation results. A study has been made for the selection of thickness and diameter that will not affect the moment of inertia after explosion and will not result in plastic deformation of the cylindrical rotors, which are generally used for Tiller attachments, and a selection diagram has been presented. The main purpose of this thesis is to create a methodology for the design of mine clearance vehicles, which are started to be produced in our country today, and to facilitate the design process.