By:- Syed Jaffry

SNC-LAVALIN 1 of 6
Aco Milic

DESIGN OF LIFTING LUG

INPUT
Thickness t= 1.25 inches
Diameter of hole d= 1.25 inches
Dimension a a= 1.125 inches
Dimension e e= 1.125 inches
e
Ultimate steel strength Fu= 58 ksi
Yeild strength Fy= 36 ksi
a

Geometric Guidelines:
There are some geometric guidelines to be considered as recommended
in Ref 1. They will be called Rule 1 and Rule 2.

Rule 1: The dimension "a" must be greater than or equal to half the hole
diameter, d.

Rule 1: OK

Rule 2: The dimension "e" must be greater than or equal to 0.67 times the
hole diameter, d

Rule 2: OK

Evaluation based on Failure Mode:

Failure Mode 1:
This failure mode involves tension failure on both sides of the hole.

Ultimate tensile load Pu=2.a.t.Fu 163.125 kips

Factor of safety FS= 5
Pw1=Pu/FS Pw1= 32.625 kips

Failure Mode 2:
This Failure mode involves bearing failure at the pin/lifting lug interface.
Often the pin diameter is much less than the hole diameter. Let us
assume a pin diameter 1/2" less than the hole diameter. Using a bearing
stress of 0.9Fy, and a "factor" of 1.8

diameter of pin dpin= 0.75 inches

Pw2=0.9.Fy.t.dpin/1.8 Pw2= 16.875 kips

Failure Mode 3:
This Failure mode involves shear failure as the pin tries to push out a
block of steel through the edge of the lug plate. The shear area is twice
the cross-sectional area beyond the hole for the pin.
By:- Syed Jaffry
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Pw3=2x0.4.Fy.e.t/1.8 Pw3= 22.500 kips

Failure Mode 4:
This failure mode involves tensile failure as the pin tries to push out of a
block of steel through the edge of the lug plate. Assume a block of steel
0.8d in length.

Pw4=1.67x0.67Fy.e2.t/1.8d Pw4= 28.322 kips

Failure Mode 5:
This failure mode involves the out-of-plane buckling failure of the lug. Per
Ref. 1, this failure is prevented by ensuring a minimum thickness of lug of
0.5 inches and 0.25 times the hloe diameter d. These are refered to as
Rule 3 and Rule 4 here.

Rule 3: The thickness of lug is greater than or equal to 0.5 inches

Rule 3: OK

Rule 4: The thickness is greater than or equal to 0.25 times the hole
diameter

Rule 4: OK

AISC Code Checks per Section D3.2:

The D3.2 section of AISC code has three separate geometry checks that can be
applied to the lifting lug. If these requirements are not met, a smaller value for "a"
should be used for the calculation of tensile capacity.

Requirement 1:
This requirement states that the minimum net area beyond the pin hole, parallel to
the axis of the member (A1), shall not be less than 2/3 of the net area across the pin
hole (A2).
A1=t.e 1.40625 in2
A2=2.a.t 2.8125 in2

Compare A1 and A2 A1>=2/3xA2 Not satisfied-

reduced 'a'
dimension will be
used to find tensile
capacity

Reduced dimension 'a' aeff= 0.84375 inches

Requirement 2:
By:- Syed Jaffry
SNC-LAVALIN 3 of 6
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This requirement states that the distance transverse to the axis of a pin-connected
plate from the edge of the pin hole to the edge of the member, that is dimension 'a'
shall not exceed 4 times the thickness at the pin hole.

4xt>a
OK

aeff 1.125 inches

Requirement 3:
This requirement states that the diameter of the pin hole shall not be less than 1.25
times distance from the edge of pin hole to the edge of plate 'a'.

d>1.25.a Not satisfied-

reduced 'a'
dimension will be
used to find tensile
capacity

Reduced dimension 'a' aeff= 1 inches

Tensile capacity based on these 3 requirements

Use minimum aeff aeff 0.84375 inches

Pw5=2.aeffx0.45.Fy.t/1.8 Pw5 18.984 kips

Weld between Lug and Base Plate:

This is typically the weakest link in the overhead lifting lug, due to off-set loading. In
general, the lug is rarely directly over the item to be rigged. Conservatively, let us
assume that the off-set is a maximum of 45 degrees in the plane of the lug and 20
degress normal to the plane of the lug. The additional loads due to off-set can be
determined by statics to be as follows:
By:- Syed Jaffry
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W tan a W tan b
b deg
a deg

W
W

Load W= 3367.5711 lbs

Length of weld along lug thickness t w= 1.25 inches
Lever arm l= 2 inches
Length of weld along lug width w= 3.5 inches

a 45 deg
b 20 deg
tan a 1
tan b 0.3639702

fmax (for 3/8 inch weld) 1694 lbs/in From Table 3.24 of Steel
Handbook, for 3/8 inche weld
factored shear resistance is 5710
lbs/in. Divided by a factor of safety
of 1.8 we get 1694 lbs/in. (Ref. 4)

f1 1651.4638 lbs
f2 129.02059 lbs
f3 354.48117 lbs
Resultant of f1, f2 and f3 1694 lbs
Difference resultant and fmax 0 lbs Ref. 3

In order to find Pw6, the difference between the resultant and f max should be zero. To get this, go to
Tools menu and click on Goal Seek. You will get the following window. Fill in as shown below and
click OK
By:- Syed Jaffry
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Pw6= 3.368 kips

Lug Base Material:

The analysis is similar to the weld above except that there is no
interaction between tension and shear. The capacity is based on the
maximum tensile stress at the base of the lug.

Load W= 8283.176 lbs

fmax=0.75.Fy/1.8 fmax= 15 kips
Lug width lw=2.a+d 3.5 inches

f1 15000 lbs

Difference between f1 and fmax 0

In order to find Pw7, the difference between f1 and fmax should be zero. To get this, go to Tools
menu and click on Goal Seek. You will get the following window. Fill in as shown below and click
OK

Pw7 8.283 kips

CONCLUSION:
Pw1= 32.625 kips
Pw2= 16.875 kips
Pw3= 22.500 kips
Pw4= 28.322 kips
Pw5= 18.984 kips
Pw6= 3.368 kips
Pw7= 8.283 kips
Capacity will be minimum of these 3.368 kips CAPACITY

If additional capacity is desired, the angles a and b can be restricted as needed to increase the
capcity of the lug.

References:
1. David T. Ricker, "Design and Construction of Lifting Beams", Engineering Journal, 4th Quarter, 1991.

2. AISC Manual of steel Construction (ASD), 9th edition, 1989.

3. Omer Blodgett, "Design of Welded Structures", 1966.

By:- Syed Jaffry
SNC-LAVALIN 6 of 6
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4. CISC Handbook of Steel Construction, 1997.

Notes:
1. As discussed in Ref. 1, using a factor of 1.8 on AISC allowables results in a factor of safety of 5 for A36
steel. This is in line with ASME B30.20 which required a design factor of 3 on yield strength and ANSI N14.6
which requires a design factor of 3 on yield strength and 5 on ultimate strength. This is also in line with the
load ratings for other components of the lifting assembly such as slings, shackles, etc.