Date of Award

2018

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Civil Engineering

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

First Advisor

Khan, Ltful

Subject Headings

Civil Engineering, Design, Industrial Engineering

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to model an improved pallet design which could overcome the drawbacks and failures of the pallets available in the market today. The new modeled pallets were designed to improve the capacity of the individual pallets and thereby increase the efficiency of the material handling process. The new modeled pallets were also designed with the aim to replace the racking system used for storage in the warehouse industry. The study was performed using two finite element analysis software, SOLIDWORKS and ANSYS, as analysis tools to study the behavior of the design under various real world conditions. The results obtained from numerous simulations using these software were compared with the market conditions to evaluate the degree of success of the study. A new design was proposed from the evolution of a primary design by optimizing with respect to capacity and functionality simultaneously. From the data obtained, it was concluded that the proposed new pallet design could significantly increase the capacity and safety compared to the existing ones, and serve as a benchmark for the material handling industry.

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