A study on power assists for bicycle rickshaws in India, including fabrication of test apparatus

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2011.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hickman, Madeline R. (Madeline Ruth)
Other Authors: Daniel D. Frey.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/68531
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author Hickman, Madeline R. (Madeline Ruth)
author2 Daniel D. Frey.
author_facet Daniel D. Frey.
Hickman, Madeline R. (Madeline Ruth)
author_sort Hickman, Madeline R. (Madeline Ruth)
collection MIT
description Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2011.
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spelling mit-1721.1/685312019-04-11T05:10:21Z A study on power assists for bicycle rickshaws in India, including fabrication of test apparatus Hickman, Madeline R. (Madeline Ruth) Daniel D. Frey. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Mechanical Engineering. Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2011. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 47). Bicycle rickshaws impose significant physical burdens on their drivers. Used throughout India for transportation, these rickshaws are not designed for driver comfort and safety. Instead, traditional rickshaws are only single-speed, with an extremely high gear ratio that makes it difficult for drivers to pedal with large loads. Particularly in India, many rickshaw drivers are under-nourished, and the physical exertion required to pedal passengers over rough roads and uneven terrain leads to serious health consequences. A power assist could go a long way towards improving rickshaw comfort and ease of use for drivers by easing the burden on the driver. Despite this, the cost and other constraints on modifications to the rickshaw severely limit which solutions are feasible. This thesis explores a number of options for a gearing system or power assist, and then documents the design and fabrication of a simple electric assist test setup. Measurements and analysis from the test setup will help determine how much power is needed to develop an effective assist, and which methods of assist can achieve that while staying within the cost constraint and other constraints on the design. by Madeline R. Hickman. S.B. 2012-01-12T19:35:08Z 2012-01-12T19:35:08Z 2011 2011 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/68531 770932186 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 47 p. application/pdf a-ii--- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Mechanical Engineering.
Hickman, Madeline R. (Madeline Ruth)
A study on power assists for bicycle rickshaws in India, including fabrication of test apparatus
title A study on power assists for bicycle rickshaws in India, including fabrication of test apparatus
title_full A study on power assists for bicycle rickshaws in India, including fabrication of test apparatus
title_fullStr A study on power assists for bicycle rickshaws in India, including fabrication of test apparatus
title_full_unstemmed A study on power assists for bicycle rickshaws in India, including fabrication of test apparatus
title_short A study on power assists for bicycle rickshaws in India, including fabrication of test apparatus
title_sort study on power assists for bicycle rickshaws in india including fabrication of test apparatus
topic Mechanical Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/68531
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