Alcoa Project Presentation

Team 7Engineering Design 100Section 024Prof. Bilen

Colin Kaye, Alberto Vargas, Mike Karpowicz, Alex DeCoste

Table of Contents

Abstract

Mission Statement

Customer Needs

External Research

Concept Generation

Concept Screening

Concept Selection

Conclusion

References

Abstract

We want to compare the differences between steel and aluminum in order to create a newly redesigned bus that is safe, environmentally friendly, and is a cost effective vehicle.

Mission Statement

We chose to redesign the CATA Bus at State College to improve environmental sustainability and also the efficiency of the transportation system. By utilizing aluminum to redesign the buses, we are able to create a more efficient bus that will succeed in the long run compared to steel buses.

Customer Needs

For customer needs, our group polled the people who ride the buses. We studied the riders who take the colored loops around the campus as well as riders that live farther away. The riders who take the bus as commuters are obligated to pay a fare to ride, so their input was much more significant than the others.

The basic question we asked was what the rider liked about the bus, disliked, and what should be improved.

Customer Needs

Recorded Need

The buses are too crowded

The buses aren’t environmentally friendly

There aren’t enough buses per route

The buses aren’t on time

The bus doesn’t stop long enough

Buses are too small

The bus fare is too expensive

The bus stop information is bad

The buses are too slow

The buses aren’t comfortable

The bus drivers are unfriendly

The bus isn’t safe

Interpreted Need

• Need less crowded buses

• Need green buses

• Need more buses per route

• Need more timely buses

• Need longer stops

• Need bigger buses

• Need cheaper buses

• Need accurate bus stop information

• Need quicker buses

• Need comfortable seats

• Need friendly bus drivers

• Need safe buses

Customer NeedsCustomer needs Weight Overall importance Need less crowded buses

4 2

Need more buses per route

5 1

Need green buses 4 4 Need bigger buses 3 7 Need cheaper buses

4 5

Need longer stops 3 8 Need accurate bus stop information

2 9

Need quicker buses

3 6

Need comfortable seats

2 10

Need friendly bus drivers

1 11

4 3Need safe buses

Customer Needs

The weight of each need was based on how frequently the customers referenced a particular need.

Based on the overall importance, we will focus on the 4 needs: The environmental impact of building and operating a bus

The safety of the buses

The cost to build a bus*

The cost to operate a bus*

*We assumed that adding more buses and having less crowded buses were dependent on the cost of buses. CATA can only afford to produce a certain number of buses due to limited funds.

External Research

What materials are used to make buses today?

Why use steel? … Why use aluminum?

What are the costs to implement each metal in a bus design?

What are the costs to operate a bus out of aluminum/steel?

What is the environmental repercussions of steel/aluminum?

External Research

Attributes of Steel:

Sturdy Material – steel is an extremely strong material used in cars, buildings, and many other things. It is invaluable in todays world.

Somewhat recyclable – Steel is made of iron ore than can be reused. Two out of three pounds of steel today is made from old steel. Steel is prone to corrosion however.

Moderately heavy metal – It has great strength for how much it weighs.

Relatively cheap to produce in large quantities.

Stainless Steel is primarily used in automobiles.

External Research Attributes of Aluminum

Somewhat sturdy – can withstand a fair amount of weight and pressure

Extremely recyclable – aluminum cans that are used for soda and be melted down and then used to build airplanes. The power of recycling aluminum is great. Also corrosion resistant.

Very light metal – can help reduce the weight of automobiles but sacrifices integrity of the hull to do so.

Expensive to produce due to strenuous process of extracting it from ore.

The most widely utilized extricable aluminum alloy is 6063.

External Research - Comparisons By comparison…

Steel definitely provides a safer bus than aluminum. In a crash, steel could take more of an impact before yielding than aluminum.

Aluminum is more environmentally friendlier than steel, as it is much more recyclable and lasts longer than steel in terms of corrosion.

Aluminum is lighter than steel, which means the more aluminum a bus has the lighter and more fuel efficient it is. Using aluminum instead of steel can improve fuel efficient from 7-20%.

Steel is cheaper to produce in large quantities compared to aluminum, so implementing a large amount of aluminum in bus would be very costly. Aluminum is .40$/lb. more expensive than steel today.

Concept Generation

Bus

100% Aluminum

100% Steel

50% Aluminum/ 50% Steel

We want to find the correct balance between steel and aluminum to satisfy the customer needs to the best of our abilities.

Concept Generation

Bus Shell

Aluminum Shell

Steel Shell

Chassis

Aluminum Chassis

Steel Chassis

Bus Frame

Aluminum Frame

Steel Frame

Concept Generation The concept generation maps that were created helped in the

creation of the CATA bus redesigns by focusing on which parts of the bus can be replaced with aluminum to help make a highly sustainable and more efficient bus. After creating a model of the bus in SolidWorks, sustainability tests were run to see which models were the most sustainable to the environment. As a baseline, the bus was made with cast stainless steel and the data was taken in terms of energy consumption and pollution in the environment. For each of the redesigns, aluminum alloy 6063 was incorporated and then new measurements were taken.

The first redesign was a bus made completely out of aluminum.

The second redesign is a bus made all from steel, but with the frame made from aluminum.

The third redesign is a steel bus with an aluminum chassis.

The fourth redesign is an aluminum bus with the frame made out of steel.

The final redesign is an aluminum bus with a chassis made of steel.

Concept Screening

For the bus, we want to implement the correct amounts of aluminum and steel.

There are many parts that go into the bus design the bus.

We focused on the three main parts…

Concept Screening – Bus Components

Bus Frame

Concept Screening – Bus Components

Bus Chassis

Concept Screening – Bus Components

Bus Shell

Concept Generation - BaselineModel Name:

Steel Bus

 

Weight: 8.85E+5 kg

Built to last:

10 year

Duration of use:

10 year

8.4E+7 kg CO2e

8.6E+8 MJ

2.4E+5 kg SO2e

2.1E+5 kg PO4e

Carbon Footprint

Total Energy Consumed

Air Acidification

Water Eutrophication

Material Financial Impact 66090.20 USD

Concept ScreeningModel Environment

al impactSafety Cost to

buildCost to operate

Total Continue

All Steel - + + - 0 No(baseline)

All Alum.

+ - - + 0 No

Steel w/ Alum. Frame

+ 0 + 0 2 Combine

Steel w/ Alum Chassis

+ + 0 0 2 Combine

Alum. w/ Steel Frame

+ 0 - + 1 Yes

Alum w/ Steel Chassis

+ 0 - + 1 Yes

Concept SelectionModel Environment

al impactSafety Cost to build Cost to

operateTotal Continu

e?

Criteria Rank

Weighted (20%)

Rank

Weighted (20%)

Rank

Weighted (30%)

Rank

Weighted (30%)

R W

All Steel (baseline)

1 .2 5 1 5 1.5 2 .6 13

3.3

No

Steel w/ Alum chassis and frame

4 .8 4 .8 3 .9 4 1.2 15

3.7

Develop!

Alum w/ steel frame

5 1 1 .2 1 .3 5 1.5 12

3.0

No

Alum w/ steel chassis

5 1 2 .4 1 .3 5 1.5 13

3.2

No

Conclusions Steel Bus shell with an aluminum frame and chassis offers the best all-

around qualities.

The most difficult aspect to change is the cost to build the bus, which increases as more aluminum goes into the bus. Aluminum is naturally more expensive per pound compared to steel.

The cost to operate however, provides a way to save money on fuel compared to an all steel bus. The bus is a long term investment, and overtime money will be saved.

Environmentally, the impact of building and operating the bus is less than baseline. It also will last more years than the baseline as aluminum doesn’t corrode as easily, and a large portion of the bus is recyclable!

As for safety, there is still a good deal of steel within the shell of the bus, protecting it in a crash.

Conclusions

With more money being saved in the long run with these buses, CATA could….

Add more buses to the routes

Reduce the fare

Make bigger buses

All of which satisfy the customer!

References1. “Center Area Transportation Association Budget” Catabus.com, Nov. 11, 2013 <http://www.catabus.com/AboutCATA/Budget/Budgets/FY20132014FinalBud get.pdf>

2. “Let’s Go Design – Steel Vs. Aluminum” The Solidworks Blog, November 18th, 2013 <http://blogs.solidworks.com/solidworksblog/2010/08/lets-go-design-steel-vs-aluminum.html>

3. Hatch, John. Aluminum: Properties and Physical Metallurgy.ASM International. 1984.

4. “Aluminum Tests Its Mettle Against Steel in Drive for Lighter Cars”

The Wall Street Journal. Nov. 18, 2013.<http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB100014240527487037269045761926 33836369392>