1. Design and Analysis of Tow Bar
for portable compressor
Varun Verma
Pankaj Khannade
Akash Chitnis
Agnivesh Kumar
Project Guide : Mr. G. A. JAGDALE

2. Contents
 Introduction to tow bar
technology
 Type of tow bar
 Force subjections
 Project description
 Work Flow
 Acknowledgements

3. Introduction to tow bar technology
• A tow bar is a device attached to
the chassis of a vehicle for towing.
• It can take the form of a tow ball to
allow swivelling and articulation of
a trailer, or a tow pin and jaw with a
trailer loop.
• Major application of tow bars exist in
agricultural, industrial, railways and
automobile sector.
• A tow bar is always fitted with a clearly
visible plate or label giving the following
information:
 The manufacturer’s name
 The type approval number
 The manufacturer’s number
 The maximum permitted nose weight in kg
 The test load used to type approve the tow
bar
 The tow bar type classification

4. Types of tow bar
Flange tow bars (2&4 Bolt)
• 2 bolt flange is the standard flange tow bar this has one fixing point for a tow ball.
• 4 Bolt flanges are a stronger design and gives the option of bolting the tow ball at
2 different heights these are normally used on commercials and 4x4 vehicles.
• This gives us the liberty of having different types of tow balls as required.
• Towing heights can be altered using drop plates.

5. Types of tow bar
Swan Neck Tow Bars
• The towball is integral with the rearward-projecting part of the towbar. It may
be welded or bolted to the main structure of the towbar.
• This bracket is designed to give a tow ball at the correct towing height and
the 'L' shape of the bracket normally fits under the bumper
• It has a good angle and clearance from the ground.
• It is cheap.
• It has a major limitation of having constant height of the tow ball and also
that different kinds of tow balls cannot be fitted

6. Force Subjections
• When accelerating, there is more mass to be
accelerated, so the maximum acceleration is
reduced. The force that accelerates the
towed vehicle is transmitted through the tow
bar, which is in tension. As well as pulling
forwards on the towed vehicle, the tow bar
also pulls backwards on the car, reducing the
resultant force that causes acceleration
• Tension in the tow bar is maintained when
the car and towed vehicle are travelling at a
steady speed, but now the force is reduced,
being equal to the resistive force acting on
the towed vehicle.
• During braking, the car pushes back on the
vehicle being towed, which in turn pushes
forwards on the car. This reduces the car’s
deceleration, so braking distances are
increased.

7. Project Description
• Design, Modeling, Testing and Analysis of
tow bar for portable compressor model :
XAS 187
• If the renewed design displays better results
then it will be incorporated in the existing
model XAS 187
• Complete study of tow bar including its
modes of failures and different
functionalities.
• Work closely with employees of Atlas Copco
and learn about the defects in existing
design.

8. Proposed Work Flow
Design Stage
Load Requirements
• A sequence of quasi-static load analyses will
be performed for various manoeuvres which
consists of :
 Pulling the vehicle straight and forward or pushing
straight backwards
 Elevation differential refers to one vehicle being
above or below the other
Material Selection
 The material will be selected based on strength,
toughness, and heat treatability
 The ambient conditions and duration of operation
Tube Selection
 A tube with sufficient strength which is able to
sustain the tensile and compressive loads of the
portable compressor and has the minimum required
cross-section area will be designed.

9. Acknowledgements
• We are thankful to Prof .G.A.Jagdale for being our
project guide.
• We are thankful to Atlas Copco for giving us the
opportunity to work with them.
• We are also thankful to Prof . A. K. Joglekar for
approving our project .