Derrick crane robustness scenarios

Abstract

The paper deals with derrick cranes (derricks) that are equipment typically used in the mining industry and focuses on the analysis of few robustness scenarios. Derricks are composed of built-up steel members which are widely and efficiently used in hoisting applications due to their high payloads at relevant outreaches. During the in-service use, local damages might occur and as such, the aim of the paper is to study how such damages influence the overall structural performance. In particular, reference was made to a derrick for which six geometrical configurations and five different damage scenarios have been analysed. Owing it to the extensive use of angles in the built-up component of each derrick, structural analyses have been carried out by using a commercial refined finite element analysis package (FEAP) offering the warping torsion as an additional degree of freedom for each beam node. Research outcomes allow for a clear identification of the parts of a derrick that should be protected and well-designed to guarantee a robust structure for its entire in-service life.