Thursday, 7 February 2019

Snow, ice and asphalt: the Engineering Department showcased the super sledge that will cross Alaska

Light and easy to use, capable of enduring the cold, collisions and abrasions; an engineering challenge but also a great didactics-meets-business experience

Versione stampabile

A sledge that can be transformed into a basic road vehicle, capable of crossing 1300 kilometres of Alaskan ice from north to south and then from east to west: this sledge was exhibited to the academic community  today by the Department of Industrial Engineering.

A group of students from the Dept of Industrial Engineering from the University of Trento built the sledge, on behalf of Maurizio Belli and Fulvio Giovannini, explorers who will, in a few days, leave Yukon, a town in the north of the polar Arctic Circle  to  begin their challenge.

The objective: to retrace the steps of the gold hunters and reach Anchorage in 40 days, thus defying the difficult terrain and the rigid temperatures - nearly  minus 30 degrees - with the help of only their own physical strength and determination.

They will have to transport food, equipment and tents on the long crossing on skis, alongside a frozen river and then on an asphalt, snow-covered road, protecting their load from the cold, collisions and scrapes.
They will be given a hand by 3ska,  a sledge designed to be a half-amphibious land-snow vehicle, capable of transforming itself quickly according to the type of terrain it is crossing and to the explorers’ needs.

Nearly a year’s work was needed, carried out by nine students, under the guidance of professors Stefano Rossi and Luca Fambri, giving life to this half hybrid vehicle, never seen before, versatile but also easy to use. There will be no instruction manual for the explorers,but they have an intuitive vehicle, easy to get into and adapt.

The project started with the first meeting  in April 2018 to discuss technical issues. The students chose to build the basic sledge carriage in a traditional way where  two removable, cantilevered pins can be mounted if need be. Two wheels can be attached to the pins, one on each side to enable the sledge to slide well on the the snow. To enable the vehicle to carry its load on the road it can be transformed merely by inserting pins and wheels.

The research subsequently continued with the choice of materials and the decision regarding the best procedure to follow to make the sledge function most effectively. This was followed by the design of the various components using 3D modelling: then the documentation phase,  cost analysis and a feasibility study of the various components to be made. Some components were made to measure, whereas others were adapted from components originally intended for other uses, like mountain bike wheels. 

A unique teaching experience that was enriched by direct contact with companies who manufacture the components. Ultamateria, the startup from the Ossicolor Ltd company provided a considerable amount of the components in anodized alluminium and the towbar; NCS Company of Carpi who made the carriage in composite (multifaceted), mounted the components,applied the exterior finishing treatments  and carried out an ergonomic study of the explorers’ movements in the towing phase.

The students who worked on the project were Matteo Simeoni, Sebastiano Furlani, Domenico Dalpiaz, Andrea Ometto, Matteo Bettinelli, Silvio Plazzer, Andrà Zambotti, Luca Bortoluzzi, and Redae Fisseha Asfaw.

The  two explorers’ adventure will start in a few days and their blog can be followed online 

All details are available in the press release