Developing Sustainable Structures: Mobile Home - Essay Example

? Developing Sustainable Structures Mobile Home Valued eMachines Mobile Homes Mobile home is a prefabricated design that, due to its ease with mobility, is constructed for a short term dwelling. They are generally used in areas where climatic conditions are friendly. In addition to the climatic conditions, a number of factors also provide for viability of such homes, such as: availability of proper transportation mechanism, ability to sustain environmental and man-made stresses, the endurance to bear weather variations and the technical support in case of any move pertaining to these homes. Mobile homes are being fabricated in advanced countries because these countries are able to venture into such projects that need real time testing and thus can bear contingency challenges in this technology. These fabricated houses are manufactured in factories from where an assembly line, shapes and, puts the pieces together for transported to its destination. They are usually temporary in some places, whereas they can be employed as a permanent solution where ambiance is friendly for their deployment. The house rests on a permanent chassis that is actually the foundation of the house. This foundation provides for three main aspects; one, the flooring, second is the mobility, third, lifting of the one piece foundation. (Britto, Et al., 2008) As it is seen that many mobile houses are being developed and deployed in US, UK, Israel etc, the special advantage that has inflated their importance is the option of their transportation with ease. To many the concept of aerial transportation can be new yet it is viable. A gross analysis can be suggested to have these aerially mobile houses must be small in size. This is because of the endurance, stress-strain constraints, airlifting ability, technical difficulties in building perfectly balanced model. Thus the besides those mobile homes that are using highway grade wheels and tires with tractor-trailers as their movers, the lift-able houses can also be an option. This essay discusses the options and constraints that come in the way to build this concept. Abstract of the parameters for such structures: Parameters are actually the fact and limits that define the circle of viability or operability of the structure. Here, these parameters are divided into two main parts. One concerns with the building of such structures and the other related to the transportation. The practice of putting together the components of a structure and other allied structural material required for complete building of such houses is known as prefabrication. The next stage is the transportation of this structure towards the destination. The prefabrication process is usually distinguished from typical construction processes that are conventional. (Wong, Hao, Hu, 2010) The materials used are specialized as far as their metallurgy, stochastic and ergonomics is concerned. The important fact in these designs is the high endurance and light weight of the material that constitute the structure. It features the ability to assemble, reassemble and transport the structure to the site. The main structural components are the base or foundation, walls and sectioning pieces, doors and mobility components. Parameters for Construction and Transportation: In aerial transportation have constraints of striking the balance and heaving the whole structure into the air. Thus these basic materials as described in the previous paragraph need special attention. Before getting into the details of these materials the engineering parameters are needed to be distinguished. The main factors that are credited or discredited to construction of these types can be stated as follows: The materials that are employed in the construction of these structures are self supporting and are ready made. For example to find a tradeoff between strength to endure dent or any snag the sheets of walls can be made contoured or with beams. (EESI, 2011) Like in the manufacturing of the cars to help saving the steel component the steel plates are provided with beams to strengthen the walls (fig below). They do not give way to slacking or snagging with time. The basic silhouette is designed with extremely tough alloys so that the framework shall be able to sustain all types of strains like sheer, longitudinal or girth strains. Construction time is reduced with the bulk manufacturing product line. The construction and congestion on the site is minimized. Further the quality of material is standardized as per the design requirements according to weather, climate, load bearing, transportation stresses etc. (waptac.org) On the same time, the jointing of these materials is an issue. As the mechanical engineering has been able to find out techniques better than welding and bolting, yet these techniques are extremely expensive and have little room or cushion to jolts. These jots have a specific capacity to endure the yanks, causes sheer or drastic failure in the structure causing demolition or complete deformation of the structure. One such technique is point welding. Heavy duty transportation vehicles are requires and in case of lifting of the structure it is impossible to transport aerially. Thus the designers will have to focus on lighter, small size, properly balanced homes. We see in the construction of bridges that queen-post and king-post bridges have their special advantages. In the type of bridges the post that is placed in the center of the bridge to help hanging the whole swathe is the possibility that can be used in building of mobile homes- specially those which are to be lifted for aerial transportation. Otherwise the fulcrum point or the point of equilibrium shall be displaced making it impossible to transport the structure. Instead of transporting the whole structure at once, the piecewise transportation can be an option. The dismantling of sectional walls and other decorative and other cosmetic material, and transportation of the framework is far easier. Later onsite reassembly is possible that is matter of few hours. This type of construction can be seen the case of bridges, spans, airports and control stations. Thus at this stage of envisioning such structures it is imperative to understand the complexity of load to strength tradeoff. Further the ability to sustain jolts and in the lifting and lowering of these mobile homes is another such problem. The concept of developing a hybrid concrete or new hybrid thin sheet structures that may be strong, robust and enduring is not new (ecosmarte). The problem is the provision of flexibility and the greater yield point for the jolts and yanks. The cushion, today, in the earthquake prone areas is usually provided with the help of specially designed steel structures and also with the incorporation of shock absorbers in mega structures. The shockproof material has a special metallurgy and shock absorbing foundation. Like in the case of buildings in Japan, the sheer force and bending movement is focused in order to provide ability to withstand earthquake with scale of 7 plus on the Richter scale. (Johnson, 2010) Thus the lifting and lowering problem can be solved with this technique. Although the construction and design cost may become very high yet the viability is positive. As the frame of the built house, as discussed, which should be small in size, should be transported separately to the other material that complementary to the structure. This off-site construction can make these aerially transported homes a possibility. The framework should be provided with posts and beams that should be geometrically balanced. Further the transportation will be less prone to swaying owing to the winds and gust of air during the aerial movement. The engineering parameters thus circle around the material of construction, mechanical and geometrical design, foundation material and span, design of number of posts and beams, roof design, sectioning material (walls etc) and the two points or a single point fulcrum balancing of the structure. Thus to find light in weight, highly enduring, flexible and shock absorbing framework is the main concern for the engineering means (example of strengthening the corners is given below. And for prefabricated structures: The second phase that is the transportation methodology and technique is the offshoot of the engineering design. This means that the design will heavily be responsible for the ease of transportation of the structure. The lifting problems are primarily concerned with the ability of the structure to with stand the aerial mobility. It includes lifting, moving (swaying, weight, random movement in air, air currents, etc) and the mechanical power and ability of the transport aircraft. In military the heaviest artillery is within the possibilities of transportation. This is due the fact that the artillery like tanks and cannons are placed inside the gluttonous aircraft. The helicopter cranes are able to transport heavy tanks like Abraham to long distances by hanging them. (Carter, Et al., 2006) This is possible only after the designing of special fulcrum point. Same concept is required for these homes. Problems and their solutions in Construction and Transportation: Problems in the transportation of such prefabricated structures are related to the variables that need to be concentrated during the design. The lifting aspect of transportation is related to the foundation or base of the flooring. The chassis needs to be light in weight as much as possible. It is actually the span that will whole move in the air. The second part of this issue is the joints of the framework that is being transported. The beams, and posts in the structure will be jolted once it is lifted off the ground. It is due to the fact that the lifting points in the structure are very important. Any imbalance will deform the structure during the transportation. This skewed structure will not be able to stand long and will be prone to demolition. The transportation of the house will be subjected to the gust of wind during the aerial flight. This problem can be minimized by piece wise transportation. The planks that form the walls and sections will be transported for onsite reassembly. Further to this is the problem of air vents that will be required during the flight. The size of the base and momentum of the overall structure is dependent on the mass and velocity of the structure. The size is to be minimized and the option of mobile home is restricted to small structures, weighing not more that heavy tanks. The acceleration and the deceleration of the aircraft can swing the structure causing sheer and bending movements. These movements are likely to put extra strain on the construct. Thus the ability of the aircraft is widely dependable. Advance technology in robust and materially light weight can provide an opportunity in containing this issue. Issues related to air trafficking and hazards of transportation of such structures can be the point of failure for such an idea, yet there are possibilities by the employment of such techniques only to strictly special areas. As the case has been specialized to be for small size homes, the viability of the transportation is thus improved. The commercial helicopters are the primary means that will be used for the transportation. It is likely to dedicate this concept for military purposes where the construction has huge time and material related concerns. The military is keen in development of such structures but it is really important to device a method and clear the flight related obstacles for the region, especially, that is calamity stricken. In addition to such areas, the establishment of temporary schools, training and telecommunication sites are also several options. The COW (Cell on Wheel) sites that are today being established for communication are usually transported through aerial methods.(meco.cz) They usually consist of chassis (the foundation) the framework and the electronic communication equipment that is very heavy. The structure consists of diesel generator set, two rooms one as rest room and the other as engineering room for communication service provision. This example provides for the possibility of the transportation of small homes or infrastructural frame for the homes. The issue of picking or lifting of the whole structure and placement or lowering is concerned with the shock absorbing ability of the material that is being used for the construction of the building. As a test, transporting simple structures that are geometrically engineered for best possible balance need to be seen for the outcomes. It is thus a design dependent concept, that heavily on metallurgy, stochastic, ergonomics, aeronautics and mechanical endurance. Today, communication systems use cell on wheel as an aid for a quick transportation and establishment of communication node. Taking it as a perfect example or the brain child of the concept of mobile homes, a solution can be devised for easy to manufacture and transport readymade homes that readily available in severe cases. This concept is viable on the base of precedence provided by the establishment telecommunication nodes. To widen this concept and make use of high engineering techniques can be of great advantage. References Britto, J., DeJonghe, N., DuBuisson, M., & Schmandt, K. (2008). A Business Plan for Sustainable Modular Homes. MESM Group Project Proposal. Retrieved from http://fiesta.bren.ucsb.edu/~modular/mod_projectproposal.pdf Carter, E. S., Decker, R. S., & Cooper, D. (2006, 15). HANDLING QUALITIES CONSIDERATIONS OF LARGE CRANE HELICOPTERS - Carter - 2006 - Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences - Wiley Online Library. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1963.tb13266.x/abstract EESI. (2011). Issue Brief, High?Performance Manufactured Housing, Page 2-4 Retrieved From: http://files.eesi.org/manufactured_housing_072611.pdf Ecosmarte (n.d.). Light Weight Concrete. Retrieved from http://www.ecosmarte.com.au/construction/lightconcrete.htm Johnson, W. (2010). Lessons from Japan: A comparative study of the market drivers for prefabrication in Japanese and UK private housing development (Doctoral dissertation, UCL (University College London)). meco.cz(n.d). Cell On Wheel, Technological Containers Retrieved From: http://www.meico.cz/download/COW-Brochure.pdf Wong, Hao, Hu. (2010). Prefabricated Building Construction Systems Adopted in Hong Kong, Retrieved From: http://personal.cityu.edu.hk/~bswmwong/pp/PrefabricatedConstruction.pdf waptac.org (2013), Weatherization Installer-Technician Mobile Homes, Introduction to Mobile Homes WAPTAC, 2013 Retrieved From: http://www.waptac.org/WAP-Standardized-Curricula/Weatherization-Installer002DTechnician-Mobile-Homes.aspx Read More