Overhead travelling cranes are used in factories and workshops to lift heavy materials,

equipments, etc and to carry them from one place to the other. These cranes are either
hand operated or electrically operated. The crane consists of a bridge spanning the bay of
the shop. A trolley or a crab is mounted on the bridge. The trolley moves along the bridge.
The bridge as a whole moves longitudinally on rails provided at the ends.
The rails on either side of the bridge rest on crane gantry girders. The gantry girders are the
girders which support the loads transmitted through the travelling (moving) wheels of the
cranes as shown in figure below.


Figure: Gantry girder
Design Loads
The effect of cranes to be considered under the imposed loads should include the following:
1. Vertical loads from the crane,
2. The eccentricity effects induced by the vertical loads, and the impact factors,
3. Internal (surge) thrust across the crane rail and
4. Longitudinal horizontal thrust along the crane rail.
The crane loads to be considered are generally indicated by the customer. In the absence of
any specific indications, the load combinations should be as follows:
a) The vertical loads with full impact from one loaded crane, or two cranes in case of
tandem operation, together with the vertical loads, without impact, from as may loaded
cranes as may be positioned for maximum effect, along with maximum horizontal thrust
(surge) from one crane only or two cranes of tandem operations.
b) For the multi-bay gantries, the loads specified above, subject to consideration of cranes
of cranes positioned for maximum effect on any two adjoining bays of the building, and
c) The longitudinal thrust on a crane track rail to be considered for the maximum of two
loaded cranes on the track.
The lateral thrust (surge) and the longitudinal thrust, acting respectively across and along
the crane rail, need not be assumed to act simultaneously. The effect of both the forces
should however be investigated separately.
While investigating the effect of earthquake forces, the resulting effect from dead loads of
all the cranes parked in each bay positioned for the maximum effect should be considered.
The cranes runway girders supporting bumpers should be checked for bumper impact loads.
While considering the simultaneous effects of vertical and horizontal surge loads of cranes,
the permissible stresses for the design of crane gantry girders and their
supporting structures may be increased by 10 percent.
Where the wind load is the main load acting on the structure, no increase in the permissible
stresses is allowed.
DESIGN BASIS OF GANTRY GIDER
The gantry girder is designed on the assumption that either of the horizontal forces,
transverse to the rails or along the rails, act the same time as the vertical loads including
the impact load. The horizontal forces act at the rail level. The gantry girder is subjected to
bending in vertical plane as well as in horizontal plane along with twisting., the design
calculations are simplified by providing a channel at the top flange of the girder, and
neglecting the bottom flange for transverse load computations. The transverse loads are
comparatively small and this simplification in design calculations does not result in serious
error. The channel section provides flange areas to resist bending in horizontal plane due to
horizontal forces acting in transverse direction. It increases moment of inertia about y-y
axis. The flange of channel section resists the bending in the horizontal plane. The bending
of the crane gantry girder occurs about the vertical axis as well as about the horizontal axis
of the member. The actual bending stresses for bending of the girder in the vertical and
horizontal planes are computed. The combined bending stresses are taken as the sum of the
two calculated fibre stresses. The combined bending compressive stress is should be less
than or equal to the allowable bending compressive stress.

Where, = actual bending compressive stress in vertical plane.
= actual bending compressive stress in horizontal plane, and
= allowable bending compressive stress.

No.

Type of load

Additional Load

1

Vertical loads
(a) for electric overhead cranes 25 per cent of maximum static wheel
loads
(b) for hand operated cranes 10 per cent of maximum static wheel
loads
2

Horizontal forces transverse to rails
(a) for electric overhead cranes 10 percent of weight of trolley and
weight lifted on the crane
(b) for hand operated crane 5 percent of weight of trolley and
weight lifted on the crane.
3

Horizontal force along the rails 5 percent of the static wheel loads

The additional loads to be considered according to Indian Standard, IS:875 1964, for the
overhead travelling cranes is given in table above as a percentage of the maximum static
wheel loads. The maximum wheel load is the reaction on a wheel due to the total load given
by weight of crane plus crab and the lifted load.
The term, maximum static wheel load needs explanation. The extreme position of the crab
with respect to the span of crane gives the maximum reaction on one of the gantry girders.
This reaction is distributed equally among the crane wheels. The reaction on each wheel is
termed as the maximum static wheel load.
The allowable bending compressive stress for bending in horizontal plane is equal to the
allowable bending stresses in tension.
The allowable bending compressive stress for bending in vertical plane is reduced in
proportion of critical stress in bending.
Indian standard, IS:800 1984 recommends that the allowable stress in axial tension, axial
compression and bending stresses and allowable stresses for rivets are increased by 10
percent for the design of gantry girder for the combination of vertical and horizontal loads
as discussed above. This increase in allowable stress is not in addition to that allowed for
erection loads or without wind or seismic forces.