A Retrofit Solution to the Failure of a Swimming Pool Lane Divider Storage Reel
Storage reels are used to retrieve, store and deploy lane dividers in the University of Limerick 50 m swimming pool. Many of the reels began to fail at the welded joint between the crossbars and the frame. An investigation was carried out that measured the forces applied to the reels, calculated the stresses on the welded joints using Finite Element Analysis and hand calculations.
It was judged that the joints were failing due to high cycle fatigue cracks that were initiated by corrosion pits at the weld site.
A number of different solutions were explored which aimed to provide a low cost design that could be retrofitted to the existing reels. An AISI 304 stainless steel bracket was designed, This bracket can be slotted between the bars and rotated into position. The bracket would be welded to the frame and would ensure that the weight of the lane divider is shared between the three crossbars at all times.