Identification of cross-section loads for steel beam with simple cross-sectional shape based on measured strain and its application

A new strain gauge layout method on the structural surface is proposed to identify the six-component loads in cross-section. Numerical simulation of a cantilever beam and an industrial case study, i.e., identification of hinge joint loads on excavator working device under actual excavating condition, are presented to demonstrate the practicability of the proposed method for industrial scale problems. The hinge joint loads deduced from the stick’s six-component cross-section loads identified by the new method were compared with the values calculated by traditional method, and the recurrence degree of stress and fatigue cumulative damage of the stick’s fatigue critical points were also compared. The maximum deviation between the actual damage of each selected measuring point and the damage caused by the identified hinge joint loads was only 1.69 %. The field test results showed that the new method could be conveniently applied with high identification accuracy for complicated actual loads.