Raymond Lopez (Team Koala Fire)

ME 302
Stephen Rice
16 October 2014
Design Problem Idea
Problem: Design a tenor drum harness that can support the weight of a 40 lb.
set of tenor drums.
Constraints: Be conservative with the amount of materials. Tenor drum
weight ranges from 30-40 lbs. (depending on model). Use a design that is
both efficient with materials as well as comfortable for the player to wear.
Materials used in the design of the harness should be lightweight, yet
durable enough to support the 30-40 lb. load. Designing the harness out of
dense materials adds to more weight to carry for the player and becomes
more uncomfortable.
Design Criteria: Belly plate, two J-bars (these support the drums), bars to
support the players back and shoulders, possibly a bar connecting the belly
plate to the shoulder/back supporting bars (take into consideration a
height/length adjustment for this part for shorter/taller players). An optimal
material to use for most of the harness is aluminum (lightweight, yet
durable).
Include some form of padding for comfort (possibly some sort
of soft foam that compresses yet retains its shape). Tension rods are needed
to secure all of the parts. Design, as a whole, should maximize the players
range of motion. The following figures 1 and 2 show design possibilities;
figure 3 shows the harness with the load of the drums applied; figure 4
shows them in use.
Analysis: Much of the stress and strain will be concentrated in the two Jbars. We can analyze how the J-bars will react and deform when subjected
to the load of the drums. Also, we can analyze the bearing stress in the
tension rods securing each of the parts. Once subjected to the load, the
harness as a whole will be subjected to an axial elongation (axial strain), as
well as a slight transverse strain, which could be used to determine Poissons
Ratio.
While in use, the drums and harness are subjected to a
varying range of motion (bouncing motion, spinning, etc). Analysis of what
reactions are taking place on the harness (more specifically the J-bars) can
be done as the harness is subjected to these types of motions.

Figure 1

Figure 3

Figure 2

Figure 4