Evaluating Dynamic Reaction Forces at Anchorages to Enhance the Safety of Mast Climbing Work Platforms

Mast climbing work platforms (MCWPs) are designed to vertically access building facades and other structures to perform various construction tasks. The mast in an MCWP system is structurally considered “slender”, its anchorages to the building play an important role in maintaining its stability. Failure of anchorages can affect overall structural stability, potentially increasing the risk of the mast collapsing. The anchorages and their attachments to a construction structure are likely among the most critical components for the MCWPs. This study developed an instrumented anchorage using strain gauges to measure and understand the anchorage reaction forces and to identify the major factors for the measurement of those forces. In the experiment, a single mast work platform was used at a simulated work site. Besides the anchoring reaction forces, the vibration motions on the platform were also measured. The study found that the amount of the load on the platform, the position of the load on the platform, and the platform’s vertical position on the mast may all affect the reaction forces on the anchorages. Such effects varied with the specific anchorages installed at different heights of the mast. The dynamic forces on the anchorages were correlated to the platform vibrations.