Sculpture Engineering Question

[kevmo]

Can anyone with some engineering experience help me crunch some numbers to help me determine the tipping potential of my sculpture plan?

I'd like to run it with a max potential load of 650 lbs (although, I can't imagine that I will ever exceed 400).

If there are any simple structure changes I can make that will make it more stable, I'd love to hear them. I can add two more inches to the bottom width but because I'm not entirely sure of how the physics work, I don't know if it would be helpful to add to the front or the back or whether it's not really worth adding at all.

It's hard to tell from the pdf but the aluminum extrusions (90 x 90mm) will sit flush on the ground along with the rest of the frame.

I've ordered the 20 gal pots already, the dimensions of which are reflected on the pdf.

Thanks!

 

[horseinmay]

I'm a civil engineer, and I don't see any tipping over issues with that. For best stability, you would want to center the vessels, halfway between the front and back of the rig. Right now you have 23" from the back, and 13" from the front. That being said, make sure the burners are well braced to hold the weight cantilevered from the upright support. I'd hate to see the burners fail under the weight of a full keggle of wort. From a structural perspective, I would be more concerned with the connection between the burners and the frame than about the entire thing tipping over. The base is big enough.

 

[kevmo]

I'm a civil engineer, and I don't see any tipping over issues with that. For best stability, you would want to center the vessels, halfway between the front and back of the rig. Right now you have 23" from the back, and 13" from the front. That being said, make sure the burners are well braced to hold the weight cantilevered from the upright support. I'd hate to see the burners fail under the weight of a full keggle of wort. From a structural perspective, I would be more concerned with the connection between the burners and the frame than about the entire thing tipping over. The base is big enough.

Thanks for the input. I wasn't sure where the center of gravity was: at the post, in the center of the pots or somewhere in between. I'm going to play with it a little more to get the weight more centered for belt and suspenders.

With regard to the burners, it's the same technology used by Blichmann's Top Tier. If he can confidentially hoist 30 gallon vessels higher, I'm hoping I'll be fine with the 20 gallons a few feet off the ground. The manufactures of the extrusions provide some data regarding load potential. I'm going to double check my assumptions before I pull the trigger.