Stair Climbing and Weight Lifting Trolley
Stair Climbing and Weight Lifting Trolley
Stair Climbing and Weight Lifting Trolley
A PROJECT REPORT
Submitted
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
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Abstract
of heavy loads over stairs. The need for such a system arises from day-to-
day requirements in our society. Devices such as hand trolleys are used to
relieve the stress of lifting while on flat ground; however, these devices
usually fail when it comes to carrying the load over short fleet of stairs. In
the light of this, the project attempts to design a stair climbing hand cart
which can carry heavy objects up the stairs with less effort compared to
enable us to carry load up and down the stairs. It also eases the movement
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ii
LIST OF SYMBOLS ix
1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1.2 DESCRIPTION 1
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3. TRI-STAR WHEEL 5
4.3.1.2 POLYURETHANE 9
4.3.1.3 STEEL 10
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4.3.3 VARIOUS WHEEL MATERIALS AND CO-
EFFICIENT OF FRICTION 10
4.6.4 WELDING 17
4.6.4.1 ARC WELDING
4.6.4.2 GAS WELDING
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4.7 PROTOTYPE OF STAIR CLIMBER
TROLLEY 19
5.
5
7. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 24
7.1 INFERENCE 24
7.2 CONCLUSION 24
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LIST OF TABLES
SYMBOL DEFINITION
F Force
M Bending Moment
I Moment of inertia
_ Bending Stress
E Young’s Modulus
R Radius of Curvature
INTRODUCTION
A hand trolley is a small transport device used to move heavy loads from
one place to another. It is a very common tool used by a large number of
industries that transport physical products. Also called a hand truck or a dolly,
the hand trolley is often used by stock persons who arrange and restock
merchandise in retail stores. When used properly, trolleys can protect people
from back injuries and other health problems that can result from lifting heavy
loads.
1.1.2 Description
Professional material handlers prefer to use a hand truck when moving stackable
items such as boxes, crates or packages. Heavier items are usually stacked on
the bottom of the hand truck, with lighter objects saved for the top.
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Hand truck users must be careful not to stack it so high that their vision is
blocked or the load becomes unstable. Generally, it is safe to load a hand truck
to the level of its handles or the top of the frame. The load is then shifted onto
the wheels with a backwards lifting motion. The user can maneuver the cargo
by steering it left, right or forward.
Different types of these trolleys exist, and the type used is often chosen
based on what type of material it will move. Hand trolleys are made of various
types of hard materials, including steel, aluminium and high-impact plastic.
Most hand trolleys come in standard sizes and are used for general loads, but
there are some that are specifically designed for very small or large products.
Wheeled trolleys made from stainless steel are the most common type of
hand trucks used. These are used in places with heavy loads to move, like retail
stores and factories, and typically have wheels made out of stainless steel as
well. Welded steel and metal wheel trolleys are typically much more
lightweight and are often used to carry lighter materials.
Those with a frame and wheels made of a metal alloy are heavier and sturdily
made. Trolleys of this type usually have a wider platform for oversized loads.
Metal alloy hand trucks are typically used to transport heavy products, such as
items made of steel.
A folding trolley is another type of hand tool, and is often made of rust-
proof aluminium. It is also lightweight but is usually able to carry heavy loads,
and can fold to take up less space when not in use. This feature also allows it to
be easily transported to places where it is needed.
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1.2.3 Garden Trolley
The garden trolley is a maneuverer with the use of a pull handle. Garden
trolleys tend to have narrow profiles so that they will fit easily on paths and
walks without damaging plants. These are designed so that they are capable of
lifting both dry and marshy loads which are most commonly found in gardens.
A kitchen trolley is a serving cart that can also be used for storage. It is
designed that it has more than one section in it which enables people to carry
various utensils and for various purposes.
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CHAPTER 2
Lifting a hand truck up the stairs defeats the purpose of the device, since
the user must provide enough upward force to lift the entire weight of the cart
and its contents. Furthermore, the geometry of a hand truck makes it nearly
impossible to lift with one's legs, as is the proper form. Considerable strain is
placed on the back muscles and the risk of operator injury is sharply increased.
The pulling up of a standard hand truck up the stairs results in a bumpy and
jarring motion. This motion may damage the items loaded on the hand truck or
cause them to fall off entirely. A hand truck that could climb stairs without
requiring the user to lift would improve the safety of moving heavy objects over
irregular surfaces.
In our project, we are designing and fabricating normal hand trolleys with
Tri-Star wheel in order to enable the trolley to move up or down the stairs.
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CHAPTER 3
TRI-STAR WHEEL
The Tri-Star wheel was designed in 1967 by Robert and John Forsyth of
the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. They were first developed as a module of
the Lockheed Terrastar, a commercially unsuccessful amphibious military
vehicle. A Tri-Star wheel functions as an ordinary wheel on flat ground, but has
the ability to climb automatically when an impediment to rolling is encountered.
This wheel design consists of three tires, each mounted to a separate shaft.
These shafts are located at the vertices of an equilateral triangle. The three
shafts are geared to a fourth, central shaft (to which a motor may be attached).
When geared in this quasi-planetary fashion, these triangular sets of wheels can
negotiate many types of terrain, including sand and mud; they can also allow a
vehicle to climb over small obstructions such as rocks, holes, and stairs. The
wheel assembly may be gear-driven, with two wheels in rolling contact with the
ground. The third wheel idles at the top until the lower front wheel hits an
obstruction. The obstruction prevents the lower front wheel from moving
forward but does not affect the motion of the driving axle. This causes the top
wheel to roll forward into position as the new front wheel. This wheel usually
lands on top of the obstruction and allows the rest of the assembly to vault over
the obstruction. Tri-Star wheel in motion is shown in figure 3.1.
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CHAPTER 4
4.1 INTRODUCTION:
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CHAPTER 5
Mild Steel
Mild steel, also called as plain-carbon steel, is the most common form of
steel because its price is relatively low while it provides material properties that
are acceptable for many applications, more so than iron. Low-carbon steel
contains approximately 0.05–0.3% carbon making it malleable and ductile. Mild
steel has a relatively low tensile strength, but it is cheap and malleable; surface
hardness can be increased through carburizing. It is often used when large
quantities of steel are needed, for example as structural steel. The density of mild
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steel is approximately 7850 kg/cm and the Young's modulus is 210 GPa
(30,000,000 psi).
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4.1.2 THREADED SHAFT :
Mild Steel
Mild steel, also called as plain-carbon steel, is the most common form of
steel because its price is relatively low while it provides material properties that
are acceptable for many applications, more so than iron. Low-carbon steel
contains approximately 0.05–0.3% carbon making it malleable and ductile. Mild
steel has a relatively low tensile strength, but it is cheap and malleable; surface
hardness can be increased through carburizing. It is often used when large
quantities of steel are needed, for example as structural steel. The density of mild
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steel is approximately 7850 kg/cm and the Young's modulus is 210 GPa
(30,000,000 psi).
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4.2 BEARING SELECTION
Ball bearing
A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to
maintain the separation between the bearing races. The purpose of a ball bearing
is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this
by using at least two races to contain the balls and transmit the loads through the
balls. In most applications, one race is stationary and the other is attached to the
rotating assembly. As one of the bearing races rotates it causes the balls to rotate
as well. Because the balls are rolling they have a much lower coefficient of
friction than if two flat surfaces were sliding against each other.
Selecting a ball bearing with minimum inner diameter of 30mm, minimum
load carrying capacity of 50kg radially and speed greater than 100rpm
4.3.1.2 Polyurethane
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are thermosetting polymers that do not melt when heated, thermoplastic
polyurethanes are also available. The main ingredients to make a polyurethane are
isocyanates and polyols. Other materials are added to help processing the polymer
or to change the properties of the polymer.
4.3.1.3 Steel
Steel is an alloy of iron, with carbon being the primary alloying element,
up to 2.1% by weight. Carbon, other elements, and inclusions within iron act as
hardening agents that prevent the movement of dislocations that naturally exist
in the iron atom crystal lattices.
4.3.2 Static friction
The surface of the wheel and what it is rolling on are not perfectly
smooth. They have irregularities shown in figure 4.1.
In sliding friction, this surface roughness is the reason for the static and kinetic
resistance to motion. Although the wheel is not sliding, the surface roughness
causes a "jiggle" when the wheel is rolling.
Various Wheel materials and their co-efficient of frictions are tabulated in table
4.1 and shown graphically in figure 4.2.
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Table4.1 Various Wheel Materials and their Coefficient of friction
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0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
Rubber Vs. Concrete
0.4
Polyurethane Vs. Concrete
0.3
Steel Vs. Concrete
0.2
0.1
0
Coefficient of
Kinetic Friction
Fig 4.2 Coefficient of kinetic friction of various tyre materials and concrete
surface
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4.4.1 Types of wheel frames
A few types of wheel frames are shown in the figure4.3, 4.4 and 4.5.
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4.6 PROCESSES INVOLVED IN FABRICATION
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4.6.2 Pipe bending
Tube bending as a process starts with loading a tube into a pipe bender
and clamping it into place between two dies, the clamping block and the
forming die. The tube is also loosely held by two other dies, the wiper die and
the pressure die. The process of tube bending involves using mechanical force
to push stock material pipe or tubing against a die, forcing the pipe or tube to
conform to the shape of the die. Often, stock tubing is held firmly in place while
the end is rotated and rolled around the die. For some tube bending processing,
a mandrel is placed inside the tube to prevent collapsing. Much of the tooling is
made of hardened steel or tooled steel to maintain and prolong the tools life.
However wherever there is a concern of scratching or gouging the work piece, a
softer material such as aluminium or bronze is utilized. Pipe bending machines
are typically human powered, pneumatic powered, hydraulic assisted, hydraulic
driven, or electric servomotor.
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We have used plasma arc cutting for cutting four stainless steel webs for the Tri-
Star wheel arrangement which is shown in figure
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4.6.4 WELDING
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4.6.4.1 Arc welding
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4.6.4.1.1 Chemistry of Oxy Acetylene Process:
The most common fuel used in welding is acetylene. It has a two stage reaction;
the first stage primary reaction involves the acetylene disassociating in the
presence of oxygen to produce heat, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen gas.
A secondary reaction follows where the carbon monoxide and hydrogen combine
with more oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water vapor.
When you combine equations (1) and (2) you will notice that about 5 parts of
oxygen is necessary to consume 2 parts of acetylene
we can say about 2.5 parts of oxygen is necessary to achieve complete combustion
of acetylene. In operation, one part of oxygen is supplied through the torch and the
remaining 1.5 parts is obtained from the surrounding air atmosphere (secondary
reaction). When the secondary reaction does not burn all of the reactants from the
primary reaction, the welding processes produces large amounts of carbon
monoxide, and it often does. Because of the need for supplemental oxygen from
the atmosphere, the acetylene oxygen flame cannot be used inside of pipes or
structures subjected to oxygen depletion from gas welding. By varying the relative
amounts of acetylene and oxygen, a welder can produce different flame
atmospheres and temperatures as he requires.
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4.6.4.1.2 Oxy Fuel welding Gases:
Commercial fuel gases have one common property: they all require oxygen to
support combustion. To be suitable for welding operations, a fuel gas, when burned
with oxygen, must have the following: a. High flame temperature b. High rate of
flame propagation c. Adequate heat content d. Minimum chemical reaction of the
flame with base and filler metals Among the commercially available fuel gases
such as propane, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas, propylene, hydrogen
and MAPP gas, “Acetylene” most closely meets all the above requirements.
Acetylene is a hydrocarbon, just as are propane, methane, and virtually all the
components which make up gasoline and fuel oils. However, it differs from those
hydrocarbons in a way that its molecule is made up of two carbon atoms and two
hydrogen atoms, the carbon atoms are joined by what chemists call a ”triple bond”.
When acetylene reaches its kindling temperature; the bond breaks and releases
energy. In other hydrocarbons, the breaking of the bonds between the carbon atoms
absorbs energy. The triple bond is the reason that when acetylene and oxygen are
mixed and ignited, the flame can reach the temperature of 5700°F to 6300 °F,
highest among commonly used gaseous fuels.
The other property of acetylene which you must remember is that acetylene/air
mixtures can be ignited when they contain anywhere from 2.5 percent acetylene to
80 percent acetylene. Mixtures of methane (the principal component of natural gas)
and air are flammable when they contain as little as 5% methane and not more than
15% methane.
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The other two gases suitable for welding and cutting are:
a) MAPP
b) Hydrogen
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CHAPTER 7
7.1 INFERENCE
After its fabrication, we inferred few limitations like large noise production while
moving the trolley up and down the stairs. In order to reduce the noise production
the design of the wheel frame is to be modified such that line passing through the
mid-point of the trolley wheel should pass through the mid-point of the step.
7.2 CONCLUSION
Though this project had some limitations regarding the strength and built of
Climbing Vehicles are concerned. During the test run of this project, it was
realized that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to consider this design for carrying heavy
loads up the stairs. This product will be well acclaimed if it can be commercialized
to suit the needs. Though the initial cost of the project seemed to be higher but
As far the commercial aspects of this product are concerned, if this product
can be fully automated and produced at a lower cost the acceptance will be
unimaginable. Presently, there are no competitors for such a kind of product in our
market.
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