WORKSPACE AND STABILITY ANALYSIS OF A MOBILE ELEVATING WORK PLATFORM USING MULTIBODY DYNAMICS

In this paper a Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) is modelled using Multi-Body Dynamics (MBD) to analyze its stability and find a safe workspace considering various external conditions like: wind load, weights in the basket and dynamic loads. The model considers the components of the MEWP as rigid, joints as ideal and disregards the dynamics and parasitic loads of the actuators. The contact forces between the outriggers/stabilizers and the ground have been considered in the model because are important for the stability control of the MEWP and they have been realized using Kelvin-Voigt spring-damper contact model. As stability of the MEWP depends on the outriggers position, a comprehensive study of stability in 3D space has been performed in different outrigger positions and finally the safe workspace is estimated.