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Advanced Design of Sports Wheelchairs / JOSEPH O'SULLIVAN

Swansea University Author: JOSEPH O'SULLIVAN

DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUThesis.67595

Abstract

The aim of this project is to design the best possible sports wheelchair for tennis for use in competition. Initial market research was carried out on existing prod-ucts from both the partner company, RMA Sport and competitor companies. The market research looked at both consumer sports wheelchairs...

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Published: Swansea University, Wales, UK 2024
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: EngD
Supervisor: Harrison, W.; Bezidos, N.; and Pitt, J
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67595
first_indexed 2024-09-05T12:50:11Z
last_indexed 2024-11-25T14:20:27Z
id cronfa67595
recordtype RisThesis
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spelling 2024-09-05T13:57:34.0243189 v2 67595 2024-09-05 Advanced Design of Sports Wheelchairs 385f35fc92b5c8297c363d3c77938344 JOSEPH O'SULLIVAN JOSEPH O'SULLIVAN true false 2024-09-05 The aim of this project is to design the best possible sports wheelchair for tennis for use in competition. Initial market research was carried out on existing prod-ucts from both the partner company, RMA Sport and competitor companies. The market research looked at both consumer sports wheelchairs and elite bespoke tennis wheelchairs, used by world-class athletes such as St´ephane Houdet. The comparison particularly focused on key characteristics such as weight, materials used and manufacturing methods. Optimisation techniques used in other similar engineering applications were also investigated. A product design specification (PDS) was developed based on the background research, with key design criteria for the performance, user requirements, compatibility with other components, manufacturing requirements and environmental considerations.Practical testing was carried out on an existing product to measure loads during range of load cases. This was done by applying strain gauges in key locations on the chair paired with camera footage to identify which movements have the largest effect on the wheelchair. Following this, two design optimisation approaches were applied. The first looked at optimising the current design by using computational optimisation algorithms to minimize weight whilst maintaining structural integrity for all load cases. This was done initially by modifying tube dimensions in a low-fidelity finite element model, before being extended to setting both tube dimensions and chair geometry as design variables. Three different methods were used to identify the best solution: Design of Experiments (DOE), Genetic Algorithm (GA), and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). This resulted in a weight reduction of almost 450g when compared to the original design.The second design optimisation approach was aimed and developing a more be-spoke product for elite athletes, utilising carbon-fibre tubes with additively manufactured connectors. Topology optimisation was used to minimise the weight of these connectors whilst making joints that were strong and stiff. 48% reduction in mass of printed connectors. The final design was manufactured and assembled to prove the concept. The PDS was used to compare the two proposed designs with the original wheelchair design to ensure they met the desired specifications. E-Thesis Swansea University, Wales, UK Design optimisation, Wheelchair sports, Topology optimisation and Additive manufacture. 15 5 2024 2024-05-15 10.23889/SUThesis.67595 A selection of content is redacted or is partially redacted from this thesis to protect sensitive and personal information. COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Harrison, W.; Bezidos, N.; and Pitt, J Doctoral EngD M2A, ROMA Medical M2A, ROMA Medical 2024-09-05T13:57:34.0243189 2024-09-05T13:38:10.1764640 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering JOSEPH O'SULLIVAN 1 67595__31269__8d9f03231e8c42ac8b480cb0f1c370a2.pdf 2024_O'Sullivan_J.final.67595.pdf 2024-09-05T13:49:22.8418210 Output 45103395 application/pdf E-Thesis – open access true Copyright: The Author, Joseph O'Sullivan, 2024 true eng
title Advanced Design of Sports Wheelchairs
spellingShingle Advanced Design of Sports Wheelchairs
JOSEPH O'SULLIVAN
title_short Advanced Design of Sports Wheelchairs
title_full Advanced Design of Sports Wheelchairs
title_fullStr Advanced Design of Sports Wheelchairs
title_full_unstemmed Advanced Design of Sports Wheelchairs
title_sort Advanced Design of Sports Wheelchairs
author_id_str_mv 385f35fc92b5c8297c363d3c77938344
author_id_fullname_str_mv 385f35fc92b5c8297c363d3c77938344_***_JOSEPH O'SULLIVAN
author JOSEPH O'SULLIVAN
author2 JOSEPH O'SULLIVAN
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2024
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.23889/SUThesis.67595
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description The aim of this project is to design the best possible sports wheelchair for tennis for use in competition. Initial market research was carried out on existing prod-ucts from both the partner company, RMA Sport and competitor companies. The market research looked at both consumer sports wheelchairs and elite bespoke tennis wheelchairs, used by world-class athletes such as St´ephane Houdet. The comparison particularly focused on key characteristics such as weight, materials used and manufacturing methods. Optimisation techniques used in other similar engineering applications were also investigated. A product design specification (PDS) was developed based on the background research, with key design criteria for the performance, user requirements, compatibility with other components, manufacturing requirements and environmental considerations.Practical testing was carried out on an existing product to measure loads during range of load cases. This was done by applying strain gauges in key locations on the chair paired with camera footage to identify which movements have the largest effect on the wheelchair. Following this, two design optimisation approaches were applied. The first looked at optimising the current design by using computational optimisation algorithms to minimize weight whilst maintaining structural integrity for all load cases. This was done initially by modifying tube dimensions in a low-fidelity finite element model, before being extended to setting both tube dimensions and chair geometry as design variables. Three different methods were used to identify the best solution: Design of Experiments (DOE), Genetic Algorithm (GA), and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). This resulted in a weight reduction of almost 450g when compared to the original design.The second design optimisation approach was aimed and developing a more be-spoke product for elite athletes, utilising carbon-fibre tubes with additively manufactured connectors. Topology optimisation was used to minimise the weight of these connectors whilst making joints that were strong and stiff. 48% reduction in mass of printed connectors. The final design was manufactured and assembled to prove the concept. The PDS was used to compare the two proposed designs with the original wheelchair design to ensure they met the desired specifications.
published_date 2024-05-15T08:28:23Z
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score 11.047609

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