Experiment and Finite Element Analysis for Disk Lock Steel Tubular Scaffold

As a kind of temporary support structure, the disk lock steel tubular scaffold is an important in engineering construction. In order to study its mechanical properties, three different diagonal brace arrangements of the unit scaffold were designed, and a full scale test study and finite element calculations were carried out. The results show that the diagonal arrangement of the diagonal brace is more reasonable and less likely to cause horizontal tipping and vertical buckling instability of the unit scaffold. In terms of rod forces, the standard are mainly force-bearing rods, the diagonal brace and ledger are mainly structural rods to ensure the overall frame geometry unchanged. Simulation of the test frame was carried out with ABAQUS. The simulation results are in good agreement with the test results. The node stiffness analysis based on finite elements analysis method shows that the node stiffness has a greater effect on the load carrying capacity when it exists between 106 and 109 N·mm/rad. A non-linear fitting of the load bearing capacity with node stiffness curve was carried out and combined with a comparison test, obtaining a recommended value of 38.1×106 N·mm/rad for the node stiffness. Analysis of the ledger lift height and the distance between standards show that the increase in the ledger lift height has a more important effect on the load bearing capacity of the frame. It is suggested that the influence of the ledger lift height on the bearing capacity of the shoring scaffold should be considered in the engineering design and calculation. © 2023 Beijing Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.