Weight reduction of reachstacker

Abstract: This thesis has been carried out together with Kalmar Global’s Innovation Center and covers a concept study about weight reduction of the telescopic boom of the Reachstacker DRG 450.The reason for this weight reduction is to ease Kalmar’s transition from fossil fueled to electric driven vehicles since less weight reduces energy consumption and leaves more room for batteries. The main focus of the study is to test a wide array of cross sections for the boom with the aim of weight saving. During the thesis both meshless and traditional finite element calculations are used when utilising simulation-driven design to optimise the boom. The study concludes that using a narrower octagonal cross section, improved material quality and adapting the positions of the mounts can decrease the weight by 23% with also decreasing the material cost by 13%.