Design Evaluation of the 375 T Electric Overhead

Traveling Crane
Dilip K Mahanty, Satish Iyer, Vikas Manohar
Tata Consultancy Services, India
Dinesh Chaterjee
WMI CRANES LTD., India
Abstract
In heavy-duty material handling equipment, major concern is optimum utilization of material for equipment
construction without sacrificing the design parameters. To understand this aspect and also to validate the
design, as this kind of equipment are a vital part of any manufacturing industry, finite element analysis is
one of the best method that can be used extensively. The major advantage is that the equipment need not
be manufactured and tested physically to find out the drawbacks. Instead one can simulate the conditions
through finite element analysis to obtain an optimum design. In this paper, authors carried out the stress
analysis of 3 major load bearing components: Crane Girder, Lifting Beam with Crosshead and Crab Frame
Assembly of a newly designed 375 T Electric Overhead Travelling (E.O.T.) Crane. Two such cranes will
work in tandem to lift 700 tons. The finite element analysis was carried out for the rated load condition
with some impact factor and also for the overload condition.
Maximum stress and displacement locations were obtained for each of the components to check the validity
of design values. All these values obtained through detailed finite element analysis were found to be within
the design limit. The design and analysis results were validated through strain gauge measurement. The
crane was further tested at site for over load condition as this forms a part of the acceptance criteria for
installation. This test also passed without any failure or deformation on the major components. The
complete analysis work gave a very good insight on various component design of crane and also a high
degree of confidence, with cost saving.

Introduction
Heavy material handling equipments have been traditionally designed using some standards with factor of
safety included into the design. This can lead to over design of the component. This paper presents a case
study required for a design that is optimum and safe with respect to the available standards as well as easy
to manufacture.
The Structural analysis was carried out through Finite Element Method using ANSYS for a 700T Lifting
Beam that had two Electric Overhead Travelling (EOT) Cranes of 375T capacity each to lift loads in
tandem.
The analysis consists of three major components of the Crane:
Girder
Lifting beam with cross head
Crab Frame Assembly
This analysis for each of the above three components has been carried out for the loads as specified by
relevant crane standards. The analysis also involved redesign of the structure wherever needed to meet
requirements of stresses and displacements. Online change in design is an advantage not available to this
particular industry. The designers also sought to reduce weight at locations wherever the material saving
was possible.
Another significant aspect of this analysis was that the results were accepted as equivalent to carrying out
field load test as prescribed by the Crane standards. Only a limited load field load test was carried out to
ascertain the accuracy of the results.

Procedure
The three components of this crane that were analyzed were modeled in UNIGRAPHICS (UG) (See
Figures 1, 2 and 3). The mid planes were extracted from the solid model in UG. The extracted mid plane
was imported into ANSYS 5.5. The model was meshed with SHELL 63 element of ANSYS 5.5 (See
Figures 4, 5 and 6).

Figure 1 - Solid model of girder (375 T)

Figure 2 - Solid model of lifting beam with cross head

Figure 3 - Solid model of crab frame assembly

Figure 4 - Finite element model of girder (375 T)

Figure 5 - Finite element model of lifting beam with cross head

Figure 6 - Finite element model of crab frame assembly

Load Summary
The boundary conditions of zero displacements were applied on both the ends of girder. The hook load was
transmitted through the bogie wheels, which were situated at distances with respect to the hook and the
girder centerline (See Figures 7, 8 and 9). The value of the total load for the three cases and load per wheel
are given in Table 1 for the loading of the crane girder. A load of 700 T acting centrally downwards in
vertical direction is used for the lifting beam. The loading applied on the crab frame is indicated in Table 2.

Figure 7 - Locations of wheel load on the girder

Figure 8 - Application of load and boundary condition on lifting beam

Figure 9 - Application of load and boundary condition on crab frame assembly

Table 1 - Values of Load for the three cases and load per wheel for each case
LOAD ON HOOK (T)

LOAD (T) PER WHEEL P

HALF LOAD

190 T

30

RATED LOAD

375 T

59.71

OVER LOAD

478 T

74.63

Table 2 - Loads on the crab frame assembly

LOAD (T)
P1

1.725

P2

30.25

P3

81.42

P4

107.74

P5

7.78

P6

158.4

P7

37.2

P8

27.28

Analysis
Static structural analysis for the crane girder has been carried out under the following three conditions.
1.

Half Load

- 190 T

2.

Rated Load - 375 T

3.

Over Load

- 478 T

Structural analysis has been carried out on the lifting beam and crab frame assembly with the loading
conditions as mentioned above.

Analysis Results & Discussion

Displacement Results
Displacement Results for Girder
The maximum and the minimum displacements in Y-direction for the three cases have been
presented in Table 3. Maximum displacement occurs at the center of the girder while the minimum
displacement is at the ends of the girder (See Figure 10).

Figure 10 - Displacement of girder under rated load (375 T)

Table 3 - Values of max. and min. displacement for the three load cases
LOAD ON
HOOK (T)

Maximum
Displacement (mm)

Minimum
Displacement (mm)

HALF LOAD

190 T

8.242

0.228

RATED LOAD

375 T

16.484

0.457

OVER LOAD

478 T

20.503

0.569

Displacement Results for Lifting Beam

The minimum and maximum displacements in Y-direction for the applied load of 700T to the lifting beam
has been presented in Table 4. Maximum displacement occurs at the center of the beam while the minimum
displacement is at the ends of the beam (See Figure 11).

Figure 11 - Displacement plot of lifting beam subjected to the load of 700 T

Table 4 - Values of max. and min. displacement of lifting beam subjected to load
LOAD (T)

Max. Displacement (mm)

Min. Displacement (mm)

700 T

17.283

2.371

Displacement Results for Crab Frame Assembly

The minimum and maximum displacements Y-direction for the applied load on the crab frame assembly
have been presented in Table 5. Maximum displacement occurs at the center of the crab frame assembly
while the minimum displacement is at the periphery of the structure (See Figure 12).

Figure 12 - Displacement plot of crab frame assembly

Table 5 - Values of max. and min. displacement of crab frame assembly
Max. Displacement (mm)

Min. Displacement (mm)

12.984

2.004

Stress Results
Stress Results for the Girder
The bending stress values for the girder for three load cases in each of the longitudinal (X), vertical (Y) and
transverse (Z) directions are shown in Table 6. Also, the bending stress in longitudinal direction has been
presented. (See Figure 13)

Figure 13 - Bending stress of girder in longitudinal direction (X) under rated load (375 T)

Table 6 - Values of bending stress of the girder for the three load cases
LOAD ON
HOOK (T)

Bending stress (kg/mm2)

SX

SY

SZ

HALF LOAD

190 T

24

0-1

01

RATED LOAD

375 T

59

0-1

01

OVER LOAD

478 T

5 11

0-1

01

Stress Results for the Lifting Beam

The bending stress values for the applied load on lifting beam has been presented in Table 7. Also, the
bending stress plot has been presented. (See Figure 14)

Figure 14 Bending stress plot of lifting beam in vertical direction (Y) subjected to load

Table 7 - Values of stress in lifting beam subjected to design load

Bending stress (kg/mm2)

LOAD (T)

700 T

SX

SY

SZ

von-Mises

0 12

06

04

0 - 12

Stress Results for the Crab Frame Assembly

The bending stress values for crab frame assembly under the given loading conditions have been presented
in Table 8. Also, the bending stress plot has been presented. (See Figure 15)

Figure 15 - Bending stress plot of crab frame assembly in longitudinal (X) direction

Table 8 - Stress in crab frame assembly

Bending stress (kg/mm2)
SX

SY

SZ

von-Mises

06

04

06

0 10

Conclusion
Maximum stress and displacement locations were obtained for each of the components to check the validity
of design values. All these values obtained through detailed finite element analysis were found to be within
the design limit. The design and analysis results were validated through strain gauge measurement. The
crane was further tested at site for over load condition as this forms a part of the acceptance criteria for
installation. This test also passed without any failure or deformation on the major components. The
complete analysis work gave a very good insight on various component design of crane and also a high
degree of confidence, with cost saving.

References
1.

ANSYS Theory Manual.

2.

J. E. Shigley, C. R. Mischke, Mechanical Engineering Design, McGraw-Hill, 1989, Singapore.

3.

Design Data, PSG College of Technology, 1978, Coimbatore.