Abstract
When designing mobile equipment, workers safety is a paramount concern for Engineers at Caltrans Division of Equipment. A hazardous condition occurred to a crane mounted maintenance truck when it attempted to lift a load, lost stability and nearly overturned. It was determined that the stabilization system in place was not sufficient to the size of the crane in use, thus at full capacity would cause a tipping condition. To correct this stabilization issue, a pull out type hydraulic outrigger was designed and built. Design criteria for the outrigger was for it to be rugged for everyday use, structurally sound, safe to use, simple to implement in the field, lightweight, and cost effective. The hydraulic outriggers were designed using NX 6 and Solidworks software for three-dimensional CAD modeling and detail drawings. A finite element analysis of the outriggers structure was created using Solidworks simulation software, testing for deflection, stress, and loading. A vehicle-tipping analysis was also completed to ensure the equipment would be stable in a lift. Budget savings took into consideration labor costs, materials costs, design costs, and future maintenance costs. The results of the analysis show that by keeping the design simple and modifying the existing hydraulic stabilization system to include a pullout type outrigger, we were able to design a stabilization system that effectively corrects the dangerous tipping condition and is structurally sound in a cost effective, safe, and easy to employ package.