Knight, Blake, Khatamifar, Mehdi, and Lin, Wenxian (2026) Design and numerical optimisation of a modular crocodile transport unit with leaf-spring vibration isolation for remote terrain. Australian Journal of Mechanical Engineering. (In Press)

Preview

PDF (Published Version) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (4MB) | Preview

Abstract

Transporting large saltwater crocodiles over remote, uneven terrain is a specialised wildlife-management operation in which road-induced vibration may contribute to animal stress, fatigue, and injury. Existing modular crocodile transport boxes are robust and field practical, but they typically rely on trailer suspension alone and lack an animal-centred vibration-isolation interface. This study develops and numerically evaluates a passive leaf-spring isolation platform for a modular crocodile transport unit. A baseline two-degree-of-freedom vertical dynamics model was formulated for the coupled trailer-transport-box-animal system under harmonic road-base excitation. An upgraded three-degree-of-freedom model was then introduced by adding a passive suspension stage between the trailer and transport unit, with stiffness and damping selected through parametric dynamic-response analysis. Finite element simulations were used to compare transient deformation and stress transfer in the baseline and isolated configurations. The proposed isolation stage reduced vibration transmission in the low- to mid-frequency range relevant to corrugated and uneven remote roads. Under representative severe excitation cases, finite element results showed approximately 50–75% reductions in peak crocodile-body stress, with comparable reductions in transport-box deformation and structural stress under critical low-frequency conditions. The results indicate that a passive, trailer-mountable isolation platform can improve the mechanical transport environment for large crocodiles while preserving field robustness and operational practicality. The study provides a numerical framework for animal-centred vibration-isolation design and a basis for future field validation using instrumented transport trials and welfare indicators.

Item ID:	94530
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1448-4846
Copyright Information:	© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Date Deposited:	30 Oct 2026 03:41
FoR Codes:	40 ENGINEERING > 4017 Mechanical engineering > 401702 Dynamics, vibration and vibration control @ 70% 40 ENGINEERING > 4010 Engineering practice and education > 401001 Engineering design @ 30%
SEO Codes:	27 TRANSPORT > 2702 Environmentally sustainable transport activities > 270203 Management of noise and vibration from transport activities @ 70% 10 ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND ANIMAL PRIMARY PRODUCTS > 1099 Other animal production and animal primary products > 109902 Animal welfare @ 30%
	More Statistics