Finite Element Analysis of the Anchorage Forces of Mast Climbers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dong, Ren G. ; Pan, Christopher S. ; Warren CM ; Wimer BM ; Wu, John Z.
• Description:
  Mast climbing work platforms (MCWPs) or mast climbers have been widely available and applied in the United States, although occurring rarely, may potentially cause more fatal consequences, compared with non-fatal incidents involving slip, trip, and fall hazards. However, little systematic study has been done on the structural stability of mast climbers. For high-rise building construction, anchored MCWPs are widely used. The vertical mast of a MCWP is a slender structural component, which needs the anchorages to maintain its stability. From a perspective of structural stability, the anchorages and their attachments are among the weakest locations for the entire MCWP setups. Failures at one of the anchoring locations may cause loading redistribution among the entire anchoring system and other MCWP components, resulting in instability or collapse of the mast climbers. In the current study, we analyzed, using the finite element (FE) method, the anchorage forces of a vertical mast climber when the platform is operating at different locations (heights). The FE models were constructed using a commercial software (ABAQUS) and based on representative setups of anchored MCWPs as specified in manufacturers' manuals. Our analysis shows that the platform operation height has effects on the anchorage forces. When the platform operates at a height of approximately 75% of the anchorage interval distance from an anchorage, it will cause the maximal anchorage forces among the examined scenarios. Our findings may help MCWP designs and safety interventions. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Construction Industry
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • Construction industry
  • Equipment testing
  • Climbing
  • Structural analysis
  • Safety research
  • Author Keywords: Mast climbing work platforms
  • Finite element analysis
  • Anchorage
  • Structural stability
• ISBN:
  9781938496608
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division ; DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  8-14
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066912
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the XXXIVth Annual International Occupational Ergonomics and Safety Conference, September 15-16, 2022, virtual event. Amsterdam: International Society for Occupational Ergonomics and Safety (ISOES), 2022 Sep; :8-14
• Email:
  jwu@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the XXXIVth Annual International Occupational Ergonomics and Safety Conference, September 15-16, 2022, virtual event
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/230882/cdc_230882_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.86 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3ecfd676ac32a14653bc9f0a8f7a8b2c00ce5e1a9eec717df5f9ae9b83775fdff162c848354b007b5068cf84f847ae7be8ac911a31c2d84c579a17a3b6be5c62