Principal investigator: Steven Stumbris
University: Bucknell University
Industry partner: Custom Container Solutions
Custom Container Solutions (CCS) manufactures around 4,000 steel roll-off containers yearly, each requiring over 5,400 lbs of steel. This project will optimize and innovate the product design toward the goal of reducing the overall cost through a combination of material selection, structural redesign, and improved manufacturability. Our aim is to develop a new design and manufacturing approach that reduces steel usage by 10% and leads to a net reduction in the cost of building a single container. We will achieve this by using topology optimization, a mathematical method used to improve material usage within a design space. This design effort will be coupled with techno-economic analysis to develop product manufacturing innovations that meet design requirements and reduce material usage by over 2,000 tons annually, with corresponding cost savings.