We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
The Column-less Stair at Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe: Strength Analysis.
- Authors
Sumali, Anita
- Abstract
A spiral staircase in Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has no center column to provide structural strength and stability. Some estimates say that the stair should have collapsed at first use. This article presents a stress analysis of the stair using a finite element model. The loading is 16 persons on steps 1, 3, 5, ..., 31 of the stair, the weight of the stair, and the weight of the railing. The analysis shows that the center spiral is severely stressed. The maximum Von Mises stress, which occurs near the top of the center spiral, is 1.7MPa. (The ultimate strength of strong Engelmann spruce is 2.0MPa.) The absence of the center column is significant because a center column would reduce the maximum stress in the stair to about 0.3MPa.
- Subjects
STABILITY (Mechanics); STRUCTURAL engineering; ENGELMANN spruce; STRENGTH of materials; FINITE element method
- Publication
New Mexico Journal of Science, 2017, Vol 51, Issue 1, p33
- ISSN
0270-3017
- Publication type
Article