Transportation-Induced Impact on a Prefinished Volumetric Modular House Using Trailer Bogie: Case Study

The modular construction industry struggles to implement the modularization strategy appropriately due to a poor understanding of the differences between stick-built and modular construction methods and unique modular challenges. Among many modular challenges, transporting prefinished volumetric modules is one of the underinvestigated key challenges - the conventional methods for module transportation [e.g., truck, self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT), and so on), although fitting for projects comprising multiple modules, are not ideal for projects with fewer modules and limited jobsite space. This study investigates hydraulic jacks and trailer bogie as the potential alternative transporting and module lifting/offloading methods by examining how the prefinished volumetric housing module is affected during the lifting, transporting (on-road and jobsite), and offloading phases of transportation. A sensor was installed on the volumetric housing module to record transportation-induced shocks in front-to-back tilt and left-to-right roll, deformation, and impact. The peaks and lows recorded for tilt and roll during each transportation phase were 42, 57, 1, and 0, and 346, 70, 6, and 14, respectively. The results indicated that impacts to the module were more directly associated with left-to-right rolls than front-to-back tilt, because high rolls primarily reflected the module making wide turns, whereas no deformation or impact was recorded. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by highlighting the hydraulic jack and trailer bogie as potential alternatives to the conventional crane and truck under certain conditions through the assessment of the transportation-induced impact on the prefinished volumetric housing module.