Vibration behaviors of the boom system of a telescopic boom aerial work platform

The boom system of the widely used telescopic boom aerial work platform is as usual designed as a telescopic boom with stepped box sections. The vibration behaviors of boom system will influence the weight of structure and the vibration amplitude at platform, which determines the operating comfortableness and safety. Based on the Euler-Bernoulli beam bending vibration equation, the bending vibration equation of a stepped beam with tip mass was established. First three inherent frequencies of the boom system at full length and corresponding normalized eigenfunctions were acquired. The vibration equation was transformed into the state space. The vibration behavior of the boom's tip was simulated by using the Simulink with actual parameters of an aerial work platform, under the condition of varying the elevation angle of boom. The results provide a theoretical foundation for the vibration control of aerial work platforms.