Abstract
The problems associated with liquid carriage (moving e.g., sloshing, and force unbalance) were investigated experimentally and the effect of several task variables on the maximum acceptable amount of liquid carried by males was determined. Five different task variables were studied: shape of non-collapsible containers (rectangular, cylindrical, barrel), height of carry (knuckle height, elbow height), frequency of carry (once/minute, once/4 minutes), distance of carry (3.05 m, 9.14 m), and presence and absence of partitions in a container. Thirteen male college students voluntarily participated in the experiment. The psychophysical methodology was employed and ‘the maximum acceptable amount of liquid carried’ was determined. Each subject performed 48 treatment combinations. Statistical analysis showed that the liquid carrying capacity of males is not influenced by the shape of the non-collapsible, as opposed to collapsible type, containers. The maximum acceptable amount of liquid carried, however, is increased by 10% if appropriate container designs are used. Carrying containers at elbow height, over longer distance, and higher frequency significantly reduced the maximum acceptable amount of liquid. A comparison was made between carrying liquids and carrying solids. It was found that the maximum acceptable amount of liquid carried is lower by up to 31% as compared to the maximum acceptable weight of solids that is carried. Although the shape of non-collapsible containers did not affect the maximum acceptable amount of liquid carried, subjects preferred cylindrical containers followed by the barrel and rectangular shapes. Data comparison also indicates that about 18% more weight is handled in collapsible containers as compared to non-collapsible containers.