Barrier systems such as handrails and balustrades play a vital role in our built environment, providing essential support and preventing falls on stairs, platforms, and other elevated areas. But how can we be sure these safety features are truly up to the task?
Modular handrail, balustrade and barrier systems can be designed through paper calculations, or by testing the system. While paper calculations can analyse the strength of individual railing components, they don’t account for how all the parts work together as a system. Strength testing, on the other hand, evaluates the entire railing system under pressure, providing a more accurate picture of its actual performance.
What is strength testing?
Strength testing is a rigorous process that analyses the maximum weight a railing system can support. It’s essentially a simulated real-world scenario where hydraulic machinery applies pressure to the handrail, mimicking the forces it might experience during normal use. This testing ensures the railing is strong enough to withstand the anticipated weight without breaking or failing.
Why is strength testing important?
Strength testing handrails and balustrades is an essential investment in safety. Not only is it a legal requirement as mandated by building codes and standards in Australia and New Zealand, strength testing also acts as a quality control measure, and verifies that the railings are built to the specified standard and can handle the expected loads. This translates to peace of mind for builders, architects, engineers and ultimately, the user.
However, testing can be expensive. To optimise costs, some manufacturers including Moddex, use a combined approach. Regular products are thoroughly tested under hydraulic pressure, while custom systems might rely on calculations alongside limited testing.
At Moddex, all products are tested according to applicable standards such as AS1657, AS5100.2, AS/NZ1170 C3 & C5 and NZBC B1.
Types of strength testing
There are two main types of strength testing performed on handrails:
- Strength Testing (Ultimate Limit State Testing): This test pushes the railing system to its absolute limit, applying the maximum load allowed by the relevant standard. The goal is to ensure no component failure occurs under this extreme pressure.
- Deflection Testing (Serviceability Limit State Testing): This test measures how much the railing bends under a specific load. The test also assesses residual deflection, which is the amount of deflection that remains after the load is removed. Both deflection and residual deflection have limits set by the Australian and New Zealand Standards and building codes.
Testing loads
Strength testing utilises three primary load types, including:
- Uniformly Distributed Load: This simulates a person’s weight evenly distributed along the handrail, similar to someone lying in a bed.
- Point Load: This replicates a concentrated force applied to a single point, like someone leaning heavily on the handrail.
- Pressure Load: This test applies pressure across a specific area, mimicking situations such as a crowd pushing against a barrier.
By undergoing this rigorous testing that complies with building codes and standards, manufacturers such as Moddex demonstrate their commitment to quality and user safety.
