CRANE GIRDER
FAILURE ANALYSIS
INSPECTION
& SOLUTIONS
Structural Design Corporation provides forensic analysis, inspection and engineering solutions for EOT crane girders, crane runways and rail alignment issues.
Our Areas of Expertise Include:
Forensic analysis to identify potential crane runway failure points
Discover crane or crane rail alignment issues and provide solutions
Evaluate repair priorities and and cost estimates of repairs
Supervise construction to ensure proper measures are taken
Decades of Crane Girder Research and Field Experience
Starting with the structural design of Ash Handling Structures for coal fired electrical generating plants in 1979 to the design of OSHPD code required seismic restraints for California hospitals in 1989, SDC has become a leader for structural safety in the steel industry.
Crane Girder Pro
For over 30 years SDC has studied the behavior of EOT Crane Girders. Our structural inspection experience of crane runways matches our crane girder failure analysis results using CRANE GIRDER PRO. CRANE GIRDER PRO performs a complete torsional and fatigue assessment analysis of unsymmetrical crane girders. This includes calculation of the Shear Center, Torsional Warping Constant (Cw), and Plastic Modulus (Zx and Zy) for the unsymmetrical cross section. CRANE GIRDER PRO can also compute torsional stress from poor Crane Rail Alignment.
Why Do Crane Girders Fail?
Crane girders in all Class A buildings are subject to failure.
Singly symmetric and unsymmetrical cross sections need to be designed by performing a full, detailed torsional and fatigue analysis. Other Design methods such as Flexural Analogy found in AIST Technical Report 13 or Finite Element analysis do not work. All loads including the dead weight of the crane rotate about the girder shear center. This is how tension forces are created in what is normally the compression zone of a girder.
Crane Girder Failure is Caused by Torsion and Fatigue
CRANE GIRDER PRO allows SDC to determine Why Crane Girders Fail. Knowing Why Crane Girders Fail affects:
- Overhead Crane Safety
- Crane Runway Repair
- Crane Runway Inspection and Maintenance
- Crane Runway and Crane Rail Alignment
SDC performs forensic analysis of crane girder failures and designs torsion and fatigue resistant replacement crane girders. Some of our repl
Some failures prior to girder repair or replacement could be classified as near misses by OSHA.
NEW: Crane Girder Forensic Analysis of Catastrophic Failures
SDC performs forensic analysis of crane girder failures and designs torsion- and fatigue-resistant replacement crane girders. Some replacement crane girders have been installed prior to total collapse of the original girders.
How Do Crane Girders Fail?
The purpose of this information is to describe how crane girders fail in order to help Maintenance Managers and Plant Engineers optimize safety and cost (repair/ replace) decisions.
Learn how torsional stresses create tension forces and cracking in crane girders, particularly near the top flange and intermediate stiffeners.
Explore how crane operation, duty cycles and misalignment create additional loads that contribute to crane girder and runway damage.
Understand how torsion, crane loads, girder rotation and misalignment combine to create structural and serviceability failures.
See actual examples of severely deficient crane girders and the structural conditions that require priority repair or replacement.
Preventing Crane Girder Failure
Structural Design Corporation provides forensic analysis of crane runways to anticipate failures, prioritize repair schedules and provide repair cost estimates. Our services include:
Identify and prioritize structural deficiencies so repairs can be planned and coordinated before major outages.
Learn how SDC surveys cranes, rails and girders to identify alignment problems and develop recommended realignment solutions.
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Structural Design Recommendations
Explore SDC’s recommendations for designing crane girders to resist torsion, fatigue, rotation and stress reversal.