IMPROVEMENT IN DESIGN FOR SEMITRAILERS - LOW BED TYPE

We have modified the neck design of the low bed semi trailer by providing additional support as shown in the above picture so that  sharp bends are avoided in primary structural members.

Actually when there are sharp bends the weight acting per unit area is more.  This becomes a weak zone where the structure can shear.  The area near the neck is more vunerable for one more reason i.e while fabricating this neck a lot of heat input is given in terms of welding and cutting the members to achieve the given shape of the low bed trolley. 

This heat input induces stresses in these areas. When subjected to load the primary members fail because of the heat affected zone; this problem could have been addressed by stress relieving techniques.  However the cost of the trailer would go up and this becomes a prohibitory factor.

In the said scenario our design will take care all the above factors.  This will help us avoid use of additional steel that is wrongly used by local fabricators to strenthen the primary members while manufacturing trailers.

Written by:

JAGDISH S KOLUR

Partner - BELCO ENGINEERS

Telefax: +91-22-27423841

Mobile:  +91-9819076201

-Mail:  jagdish@belcoengineers.com

A SEMITRAILER FOR THE TATA PRIMA 4928..... The World truck

As I write this I am very proud to inform that we have delivered two semi-trailers for the Tata Prima 4928, world truck shown in the above picture.  This prime mover is manufactured to compete in international market and the quality of the product is on par with any international brand. 

It was a honour when we were asked to manufacture a low bed semitrailer 45 feet long with triple axle.  We went back to the drawing board to modify the structure for the low bed semi trailer.  The challange here was to design a structure for this prime mover which is equipped with the state of the art common rail diesel engine.

The major difference in this prime mover and the conventional prime movers is that the speed to weight  ratio is very high.  This necessasiates a structure which has good resistance to impact loads because the road conditions in India have still to reach international standards and on the other hand making the structure too heavy to withstand these impact loads reduces the payload available to the transporter; making his operations un-viable.  Both the requirements are contradictory and it was a challange to arrive at a optimal design to take care of both these conflicting requirements.

I am glad we have achieved this and I would certainly like to thank our clients M/s Reetu Logistics & Roadlines Pvt Ltd; who showed a lot of confidence in our capability.  I feel my team has definitely done justice and come out with a product which will match its powerful prime mover.

Congratulations to all concerned.

JAGDISH S KOLUR

Partner - BELCO ENGINEERS

Telefax: +91-22-27423841

Mobile:  +91-9819076201

-Mail:  jagdish@belcoengineers.com