Date of Award

Fall 1978

Document Type

Thesis - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Advisor

Kao, J. S.

Second Advisor

Wenzel, Thomas H.

Third Advisor

Yoo, C. H.

Abstract

In the past several decades, the failure of mobile crane booms has been a problem of great concern in the heavy construction equipment industry, due to the potential loss of life and property which may result. Every year, construction equipment manufacturers are designing and building larger cranes and longer booms, so that the ability to predict safe maximum lifted loads for a crane boom over a range of operational positions is of great importance. The terminology 'failure of a crane boom' is generally recognized as a failure due to a structural deficiency in the boom or in the system of suspension ropes which support the boom. In particular, there are four types of boom structural failure which can occur. These types of failure are as follows: 1.) Overall buckling (in-plane or out-of-plane) of the boom cosidered [sic] as a beam - column. 2.) Local buckling of the lattice-supported boom chords. 3.) Exceeding a prescribed maximum allowable boom deflection. 4.) Exceeding a prescribed maximum allowable tension in any of the suspension ropes, which support the boom or load. A method of analysis has been developed which is the basis for a Fortran IV computer program. This computer program can be utilized for any combination of boom length, boom angle (or load radius), and lifted load, to determine whether any of the above four types of boom failure occur. This computer program includes the case of a crane boom rigged with a statically indeterminate (dead) intermediate suspension rope. (This type of rope system makes possible the use of ever- increasing boom lengths and therefore, the ability to accurately analyze it is of major importance.)

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