An Analysis of Vehicle Design Structures and Materials with Emphasis on Optimized Vehicle Road Worthiness Safety
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VEHICLE STRUCTURE DESIGNS AND MATERIALS ON SCHOOL BUS BODY CRASHWORTHINESS: A CASE OF VEHICLE BODY BUILDING INDUSTRY IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA. BY BOSIRE THOMAS M. A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION (AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY OPTION) OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF ELDORET, KENYA JANUARY, 2021 ii DECLARATION Declaration by the Student This study is my original work and has not been submitted for any academic award in any institution; and shall not be reproduced in part or full, or in any format without prior written permission from the author and/or University of Eldoret. Bosire, Thomas M. ________________________________ _____________________ EDU/PhD/TE/ 002/14 Date Declaration by the supervisors This study has been submitted with our approval as the University Supervisors. ________________________________ _____________________ Prof. Peter Okemwa Date Department of Technology Education, University of Eldoret, Kenya. ________________________________ _____________________ Dr. Eng. Herbert Dimo Date Department of Technology Education, University of Eldoret, Kenya. iii DEDICATION This study is dedicated to above all our Almighty God, for the will and strength, to my immediate family, for their understanding and patience, mentors, friends and the Doctor of Philosophy fellow colleagues for their support and encouragement. iv ABSTRACT Thousands of vehicles are involved in vehicle collisions or crashes every year in Kenya, resulting in fatal accidents and severe injuries to passengers. There is growing concern among the stakeholders that the design of bus vehicle structures and the levels of crashworthiness are quite alarming. According to experts, school bus vehicle structures and minibuses involved in accidents indicate that the design is substandard and therefore rendering pupils/students more vulnerable to fatalities and serious injuries. Even though vehicle crashworthiness in developed countries has been documented, there is limited research done in Kenya in this specific area. This study attempted to fill the gap by focusing on school bus vehicle structure crashworthiness. The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of vehicle structure designs and materials on bus crashworthiness among body industry players in Nairobi City County. The specific objectives were to determine; the influence of locally designed bus vehicle structure, competency skills, engineering materials, equipment, welding technology, vehicle structure inspection tests and customer needs on crashworthiness of school bus. This study adopted Axiomatic theory, Mathematical Framework theory and Taguchi design theory. The pragmatic philosophy informed the study. The explanatory research design was used. The target population was 1500 respondents from bus body building firms and government regulatory institutions. The sample size was 315 respondents. Questionnaires, interview schedules and observation were the data collection instruments. Supervisors served as expert judgment to establish validity of the instruments. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient of >0.7 was used to determine the reliability of the research instrument. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive and inferential analysis with the aid of SPSS V22 software. The multiple regression model, the coefficient of determination (R squared) of .744 showing that 74.4% of the variation in crashworthiness of a bus can be explained by vehicle structures designs and materials. There was a significant relationship between locally designed bus (β1= 0.089), competency skills (β2=0.429) engineering materials (β3= - 0.725), equipment and tools (β4=0.127), welding technology (β5 = 0.575) and inspection test (β6 = 0.321) and customer needs (β7=0.094) crashworthiness of a bus. The engineering materials had a negative and significant influence on crashworthiness of a bus. The equipment, locally designed bus, competency skills, welding technology, vehicle inspection tests and customer needs had a positive significant influence on crashworthiness of a school bus. However the engineering materials used in the manufacture of school buses does not guarantee bus body crashworthiness. The ministry of industrialization should provide incentives to the school bus manufacturing company to locally build school buses that have a lower failure rate. The management of school bus manufacturing companies should periodically send their employees to refresher workshops for competence skills upgrades. This study will help improve school bus body construction and materials thereby enhancing school bus body crashworthiness hence ultimately increasing student survival rates in the event of a school bus accident. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ..................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................ ix LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... x ABBREVIATIONS/ ACRONYMS ...................................................................... xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................. xiv CHAPTER ONE .................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background of the Study .................................................................................. 1 1.3 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................. 9 1.4 Purpose of the Study ...................................................................................... 12 1.5 Objectives of the Study .................................................................................. 12 1.5.1 Main Objective ........................................................................................ 12 1.5.2 Specific Objectives .................................................................................. 12 1.6 Research Questions of the Study .................................................................... 13 1.7 Hypotheses of the Study ................................................................................. 13 1.8 Justification of the Study ................................................................................ 14 1.9 Significance of the Study ............................................................................... 14 1.10 Assumptions of the Study............................................................................. 15 1.11 Scope of the Study ....................................................................................... 16 1.12 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................... 16 1.13 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................ 17 1.13.1 Axiomatic Design Theory ...................................................................... 18 1.13.2 Mathematical Framework Theory for Engineering Design ..................... 21 1.13.3 Taguchi Method ..................................................................................... 24 1.14 Conceptual Framework ................................................................................ 27 1.15 Operational Definition of Terms................................................................... 29 1.16 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................ 30 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................... 31 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................. 31 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 31 2.2 School Bus Vehicle Structure and Crashworthiness ........................................ 31 2.2.1 Crash Characteristics of bus Vehicle Structure. ........................................ 33 2.3 Locally Designed School Bus Vehicle structure ............................................. 34 2.4 Equipment and Tools used for School Bus Vehicle structure .......................... 38 2.5 Competency skills and School Bus vehicle structure. ..................................... 46 vi 2.6 Engineering Materials and School Bus Vehicle Structure ............................... 48 2.7 Bus Vehicle structure Inspection tests and Crashworthiness ........................... 58 2.8 Welding technology and School Bus Vehicle Structure. ................................. 64 2.9 Customer needs on school bus vehicle structure design .................................. 70 2.10 Knowledge Gap ..........................................................................................