Mechanical Engineering-playground Design: Special Calculation - Case Study Example

HАNIСАL ЕNGINЕЕRING-РLАYGRОUND DЕSIGN Name Institution Instructor Date Executive summary The investigation, design and construction of a monkey playground which include structures such as the climbing frame are significant exercises in ensuring the wellbeing of the Siamang gibbon monkeys. Playground for the monkey is a very key component of the proposed new enclosure at the Adelaide zoo. This is due to the fat that it plays a greater role in maintaining the wellbeing of the Siamang gibbon monkeys. The Design and construction of a new enclosure at the Adelaide zoo is subject to ethical and social considerations and therefore the technologies and the materials used in this putting up structures at the Siamang gibbon monkeys have got to adequately satisfy the acceptable quality standards. The climbing frame and other structures in the enclosure at the zoo encompass safety consideration aspects both during their construction and usage(Fowler and Miller, 2008). It is important to gather relevant information regarding the lifestyle of the Siamang gibbon monkeys which should then aid in an appropriate design of the climbing frame and other structures at the at the Adelaide zoo playground. Once structures at the playground have are designed and constructed, their usage and maintenance has to be conducted in accordance with proper designers’ guidelines to ensure their durability and proper functionality. Animal play areas are usually important for animals that are kept various reasons ranging from tourism and entertainment to welfare. This is also the case in a zoo. The presence of play area and structures to that effect is made important due to the fact that it is mostly concerned with the emotional needs and the welfare of the animals that are within the zoo enclosure (Sullivan, 2009). Siamang gibbon monkeys with regard to their habitat; they inhabit places that are ever green as well as those that are partially deciduous. For the case of those that are not kept within any boundaries, they prefer to inhabit mangrove forest that generally undisturbed. These animals are having got certain lifestyles and behaviors that are important considerations in designing their playing grounds and structures involved therein. The male monkeys spend most of their play time in a natal group (Hile, 2008). The female ones however, do not spend their time hanging out together instead they prefer to disperse to different destinations. This means that interaction at social level in monkeys occurs mostly among the male members. These animals operate within the kind of societies that are fission-fusion where member who belong to one community rarely spend time together instead they spend most of their play time in subgroups which are often split and merged having various compositions. These small groups vary in in accordance to their size from a given particular member to all members together. The size of the subgroups involving these animals can be subjected to adjustments depending on the size of the available space for playground as well as other associated structures. For the Siamang gibbon monkeys that are not enclosed in an enclosure within a zoo, the major threat it that which is associated with the deforestation because then they habitat as well as their play area is destroyed (Tamura, 2007). Zoo enclosure The design and construction of the playground within an enclosure is a very fundamental aspect of the management of the captivated or restricted monkeys as well as other animals. This is because the Siamang gibbon monkeys require appropriate space to exhibit their behavior naturally and through means that make them comfortable. They need to exhibit their natural behavior through exercising their locomotive skills in full range. In designing of the paly ground and other structures that are within it for the Siamang gibbon monkey, it is important to give special considerations to the vertical space. This is owing to the fact that these animals have got a lifestyle of climbing things rather than moving and playing on the ground. These animals also need a lot of arboreal space which should form part of the considerations in designing the structures in the new propose playing ground (Bossel, 2007). In the environments with arboreal space there is need to fill them using fixed as well as mobile furnishings in order to make the enclosure more complex and enhanced. Enclosures within zoos are mainly constructed majorly for the purpose of displaying the kept animals as adequately as possible. Zoos that were used in the old days were basically meant for displaying a larger number of animals at they possibly could (Fowler and Miller, 2008). This has been the case as a result of little understanding with regard to the animal habitat as well as the animal behavior. Play areas and structures in zoo enclosures have been in existence for time in memorial and as time has gone by they have kept n being improved and modernized. Currently advancements in technology and construction methods have made the design and construction of structure that form part of play areas for animals in a zoo enclosure much easier and faster (Hile, 2008). The materials used in the construction of various structures in the animal playground are carefully selected in accordance with the design specification and the and the requirements according to the zoo management such as the size of the available space, the number of animals that are expected to be using the facility and the amount of revenue that is available or allocated for such a project. Design and construction of structures that form part of the play area for animals needs to involve proper adequate understanding of the lifestyle, wellbeing and habitat of the concerned animals before the begin on the actual designing and building exercises. Other factors that need to be considered include those that relate to the public viewing as well as funding and maintenance (Mcbride, 2010). The playground within the enclosure will need to harbor the climbing frame structure which has to be strategically positioned so that the animals with make its use as adequately as possible in the course of their playing, exercising and fighting boredom. The enclosure for the Siamang gibbon monkeys in the zoo will certainly contain subdivisions and one of the subdivisions is the area for the playground construction. The climbing frame to be situated at the area allocated for playground is expected to be sized and allocated according to the extent of the available space there in. The size and the design of the climbing frame are also expected to allow for ease of cleaning and other maintenance practices. The enclosure is also expected to have in place barriers that are expected to be located at intervals of 1.2 m and their number will depend with the entire consideration extent of the area allocated for enclosure construction services. Components that need to be purchased for fabrication The putting up of the climbing frame as part of the structures that are going to be erected in the playground portion of the Siamang gibbon monkeys enclosure in the zoo will require the purchase of various material that are going to be used in fabrication in accordance with the designer specifications. The fabrication of the climbing frame according to the specified design or components including steel round bar, woo slats as well as the concrete and other auxiliary material and components such as the screws and other materials as well as tools will also be required even thought that may not be in large quantities. Other than the components the above mentioned components, this fabrication process is surely going to require technician and craftsmen who are expected to offer their services in interpreting the design and actualizing it in a manner will strictly adhere to the design requirements and specifications (Mobilereference, 2011). The technicians and craftsmen required are expected to well conversant with welding, metal work as, carpentry as well as masonry. This skilled human labor will therefore have to be taken into consideration. This is because the appropriate and well experienced craftsmen will need to be properly paid for them to offer their services accordingly. The above mentioned component that will need to be purchased for fabrication of the playing ground climbing frame will be purchased from manufacturers and suppliers who include the Blue Scope Steel Limited in Australia who are dealers in a wide range of versatile steel building and construction materials. The choice of the above components and their various applications in different parts of the structure is determined through special calculations and considerations through use of FEA models (See the calculations and design drawing sketches in the appendix)The construction of the climbing frame for the animal will entail welding the steel bars to other steel bars to obtain the joints according to the design requirements and also bolting the wooded and the timber slats of components to the already welded steel frame. The kind of machines that this fabrication process of climbing frame will require include the welding machine, drilling machine, power saw among other machines as well as metal working and carpentry tools. The proposed design of the climbing frame for the enclosure play area is going to go up to a maximum height of 6 m with the identical steel frames being spaced at 5m. The wooden slut frame to be fixed onto the steel one through bolting is expected to be fabricated to a height of 4m and a width of 2m. The climbing frame fabrication is to involve the welding of the steel round bars to the RHS sections of steel. In the analysis and calculations, the impact created by the action of welds and bolts in the structures is considered through the fact that the design assumption incorporates it into the strength of the materials used in the structure. The wooden slat will be joined together through nailing to form a wooded frame which is then drilled alongside the steel frames before being joined together through bolting. The climbing frame is to be fabricated out of steel round bars welded to RHS steel sections. The whole structure will then be fixed and erected on the ground through the use of concrete to give it’s a firm support. Conclusion The designing process of the climbing frame as part of the playground design for the Adelaide Zoo for the Siamang gibbon monkeys is a clear demonstration of the application of engineering design principles of offer solutions to the challenges that arise in day to day life situation. As much as it is important to come up with structure like the climbing frame to help in dealing with the problem of boredom and fatigue in the Siamang gibbon monkeys and other animals it is also very important to have their safety in mind and strictly adhere to the engineering design principles to ensure appropriate functionality, durability and safety of the structural system constructed. There is also the aspect of cost optimization in the process of designing and construction. This is addressed through proper selection of construction materials in accordance with the mechanical property requirement and the structure application. and considering the most suitable manufacturer. The understanding of the behavior of the animals for which a certain playground structure is constructed is equally a necessity to facilitate the design and construction process. Reports of this nature when presented to the zoo management, it facilitate decision making process with regard to construction and fabrication of structures in a more appropriate manner. REFERENCE BAŽANT, Z. P. (2005). Scaling of structural strength. Amsterdam, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. BOSSEL, H. (2007). System zoo 1. 1. Norderstedt, Books on Demand GmbH. BREITKOPF, P., & COELHO, R. F. (2013). Design Optimization in Computational Mechanics. London, Wiley. COLÓN, C. (2008). Frommer's Caribbean Ports of Call. Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons. DAFT, R. L. & WILLMOTT, H. (2010). Organization theory and design. Andover, South-Western Cengage Learning. FOWLER, M. E., & MILLER, R. E. (2008). Zoo and wild animal medicine: current therapy. St. Louis, MO, Saunders/Elsevier. HILE, K. (2008). Little zoo by the Red Cedar: the story of the Potter Park Zoo. New York, NY, Strategic Book Pub. KLEIMAN, D. G., THOMPSON, K. V., & BAER, C. K. (2010). 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Forever foreign: expatriate lives in historical Kobe. Canberra, National Library of Australia. Appendices Appendix I: Design diagram and calculations Appendix II: FEA model Read More