Development of a new oil pan

Abstract

The High Capacity Transport project started in 2009 with the idea that larger amounts of goods could be transported by every truck currently in deployment in Sweden, effectively reducing the CO2- emissions from each ton transported. To accomplish this, many different companies, universities, research institutes as well as the government were involved to secure the necessary expertise and backing. One thing done to increase the capacity of the truck was to lower the chassis to expand the loading volume. This reduction of clearance has put the oil pan to close to the ground and caused the unwanted consequences of impacts and scraping during runtime. To solve this issue the High Capacity Transport division at ÅF in conjunction with Volvo Trucks established a degree project with the aim to design a more durable oil pan. The methodology included several product developments methods, such as a customer needs analysis to establish the requirements for the oil pan, an internal and external benchmarking to gain information of existing oil pans and inspiration for the concept development process. Those concepts were later evaluated and grated based of the earlier stated requirements and the result yielded a redesigned oil pan that, with additional confirmation, could serve as a viable solution to the issue.