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Designing Collapsible Shipping Container
Designing Collapsible Shipping Container
GROUP A 08
Background:
Background:
UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) ships various sizes of thrust reversers to different locations around the world. The company often requires the empty containers to be shipped back to their origin. However, due to the non-collapsible nature of the existing shipping containers, the space taken up by the empty containers has driven the cost of shipping much higher than it needs to be. It is often less expensive for UTAS to buy a new container rather than ship it back.
UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) ships various sizes of thrust reversers to different locations around the world. The company often requires the empty containers to be shipped back to their origin. However, due to the non-collapsible nature of the existing shipping containers, the space taken up by the empty containers has driven the cost of shipping much higher than it needs to be. It is often less expensive for UTAS to buy a new container rather than ship it back.
Therefore, the company wishes to develop a next generation collapsible shipping container that maximizes space usage and minimizes weight when shipped back empty so that the shipping cost could be reduced significantly. The company also requires the new design to incorporate a collapsible inner support which securely holds the thrust reverser within the container. The whole design should be able to withstand the force due to a hard landing of a cargo plane and offer enough protection for the product. The challenge faced by the team was to search for innovative approaches to reduce the volume and weight of the shipping container while at the same time maintain structural strength and aim for possible sustainability.
Therefore, the company wishes to develop a next generation collapsible shipping container that maximizes space usage and minimizes weight when shipped back empty so that the shipping cost could be reduced significantly. The company also requires the new design to incorporate a collapsible inner support which securely holds the thrust reverser within the container. The whole design should be able to withstand the force due to a hard landing of a cargo plane and offer enough protection for the product. The challenge faced by the team was to search for innovative approaches to reduce the volume and weight of the shipping container while at the same time maintain structural strength and aim for possible sustainability.
Objective:
In order to reduce shipping cost, UTAS is seeking for designs for collapsible shipping container, which must be strong at the same time to keep the thrust reverser safe.
In order to reduce shipping cost, UTAS is seeking for designs for collapsible shipping container, which must be strong at the same time to keep the thrust reverser safe.
Several Functional Requirements (FRs) of the container are:
Several Functional Requirements (FRs) of the container are:
Able to withstand a 9G horizontal static force and a 2G vertical static force
Collapsible inner support to securely mount the thrust reverser
Forklift pallet underneath the floor
Lifting hooks for crane lifting operation on the ceiling
An observation door on the wall for ease of inspecting the thrust reverser inside
Doors that can swing open completely (270 degrees of motion)
Must be able to stack at least two containers on top of each other
Goals:
75% volume reduction
"Tool-less" collapsing mechanism
Self-contained (no removable parts)
Additionally, major deliverables are:
1:4 scale model of the final container
CAD designs of the full scale container
Finite element analysis (FEA)
Material strength analysis of the full scale container
Bill of materials for the full scale container
Fabrication instruction manuals with engineering drawings of the full scale container
Reports with the whole project overview and design decisions
Final Design Solution:
Complete Folding Container
Complete Folding Container
The final design has one bi-folding wall and one single-folding wall in order to reduce overhang as much as possible.
Steps to fully collapse the container
1) Have a crane to hold the ceiling in place
2) Open the doors and lock them onto the walls
3) Remove angle braces
5) Remove the top horizontal bar of the inner support
6) Collapse the A frames of the inner support and lock them onto the single-folding wall
7) Collapse the bi-folding wall (after making sure the ceiling is held by the crane securely)
8) With the aid of the crane, safely lock the ceiling onto the standing wall
9) Collapse the single-folding wall
More detailed steps are described in Final Design Page and Executive Summary.
1:4 Scale Model:
Collapsed
Fully Extended
Results
It achieves 76 % volume reduction.
It takes approximately 3 minutes to collapse.
It takes approximately 5 minutes to fully extend.
"Tool-less" folding/extending mechanism is achieved.
The inner support collapses as predicted.
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