Discipline: Technology and Engineering
Subcategory: Civil/Mechanical/Manufacturing Engineering
Cordel Gordon - Savannah State University
In this project, a buckling analysis of a safety ladder has been conducted by SolidWorks simulation software. In a previous study, a static analysis was conducted for a similar safety ladder. This project is the continuation of that project with an extension of buckling analysis. The ladder was created with four steps. The frames on the two sides of the ladder were connected with the steps by pins. After creating the step, frame, and pin as Solidworks part files according to some suitable dimensions, they were assembled to create the 3D safety ladder model. The material assigned for the two side frames and sixteen pins was aluminum alloy and that for the four steps was balsa wood. For a 200-lb on the top step of the ladder, a buckling factor of safety of 26.384 was obtained, which indicates that the ladder is likely to withstand a load that is up to 26.384 times larger than what is applied, i.e. it will start buckling with a load of 5267.8 lbs (critical load). A comparison with the previous static analysis, which yielded a stress factor of safety of 1.08, indicates that for this specific loading and materials the ladder would yield before it would buckle.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): Savannah State University. PSLSAMP Plus Program, Funded by NSF. Mir Hayder, PhD, Savannah State University. Mrs. Devi, the coordinator PSLSAMP program, SSU. Chellu S. Chetty, PhD, Associate VP of Research and Sponsored Programs, SSU.
Faculty Advisor: Mir Hayder,