Solid Modeling and Finite Element Analysis of an Overhead Crane Bridge

Abstract

The design of an overhead crane bridge with a double box girder has been investigated and a case study of a crane with 35 ton capacity and 13 m span length has been conducted. In the initial phase of the case study, conventional design calculations proposed by F. E. M. Rules and DIN standards were performed to verify the stress and deflection levels. The crane design was modeled using both solids and surfaces. Finite element meshes with 4-node tetrahedral and 4-node quadrilateral shell elements were generated from the solid and shell models, respectively. After a comparison of the finite element analyses, the conventional calculations and performance of the existing crane, the analysis with quadratic shell elements was found to give the most realistic results. As a result of this study, a design optimization method for an overhead crane is proposed.