Manufacturing Technology 2020, 20(4):500-506 | DOI: 10.21062/mft.2020.068

Identification of the cause of damage to the firefighter ladder

Filip Průša1, Vít Jonák1, Angelina Strakošová1, Karel Doubrava2, Miroslav Španiel2, Václav Vystrčil3, Dalibor Vojtěch1
1 Faculty of Chemistry and Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technicka 5, 166 28 Prague 6. Czech Republic
2 Department of Mechanics, Biomechanics and Mechatronics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Center of Advanced Aerospace Technology, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technicka 4, 166 07 Prague 6. Czech Republic
3 Technical Institute of Fire Protection in Prague, Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic, Piskova 42, 143 00 Prague 4. Czech Republic

Two extendable firefighter ladders, both made of AA 6063 alloy, has been destructively tested accord-ingly to the ČSN EN ISO 1147 to determine the maximal load before their failure. For this purpose, two brand new ladders with a complex profile were compared to the 5-year old one with a far simpler profile. It was found, that the new ladder broke already at a load of 366 (365 kg) while the 5-year old ladder could withstand a much higher load of 426 kg. Since both the ladders broke nearby the guides acting as a mechanical support for their extension, it was of high interest to investigate the cause of different behaviour. Considering the fact, that the brand new ladder had a much more complex pro-file of the beam and the fact, that the guides were welded to the beams, it was of high importance to investigate the influence of the weld on the overall integrity of the ladder. It was found, that the weld itself deteriorated the mechanical properties of the beam reaching the minimal hardness in the dis-tance of 10 mm, which also corresponded with the crack initiation site. This place also showed the lowest hardness reaching only 52 HV 1.

Keywords: AA 6063, microstructure, weld joint, failure, mechanical properties
Grants and funding:

The Ministry of Interior, Project: Safety improvement of extension ladders for firefighters - VI2016202002.

Received: May 13, 2020; Revised: August 12, 2020; Accepted: August 31, 2020; Prepublished online: November 23, 2020; Published: December 8, 2020  Show citation

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Průša F, Jonák V, Strakošová A, Doubrava K, Španiel M, Vystrčil V, Vojtěch D. Identification of the cause of damage to the firefighter ladder. Manufacturing Technology. 2020;20(4):500-506. doi: 10.21062/mft.2020.068.
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