DiagnosingBridgeCraneTrackingProblems

PreparedBy GaryJ.Davis,P.E.
DirectorofConsultingServices IntegratedMachinerySolutions(IMS) FortWorth,Texas November14,2010 TexasRegisteredEngineeringFirm#11499

www.teamims.com garydavis@teamims.com 8176592399

Introduction Poorbridgetrackingcanbeastubbornandexpensivemaintenanceproblemforoverhead cranes.Itisalsooneofthemosttediousproblemstotroubleshoot.Trackingproblemsare difficulttodiagnosebecauseofthemanyconditionsthatcausethem.Iftheyarenotpromptly rectified,thedestructiveactionfeedsonitselfandproblemscanmultiply.Whenthishappens, theproblembecomesevenmorecomplicated. Thisarticleprovidesagoodstartingpointtohelpmaintenancetechniciansandengineerssolve trackingproblemsbytheprocessofelimination.Duetothemanypossibleconfigurationsof toprunningoverheadcranesandrunways,thisguidecanonlyprovidegeneralguidanceonthis topic. Normalvs.AbnormalBridgeTrackingBehavior Skewing,sidethrust,andwheel/railwearoccurnaturallyduringbridgetracking.Design specificationsforcranesandrunwaysprovideforlateralcraneloadsandforcescausedby steeringandskewing.Forcertainhardworkedcraneapplications,wheelsandrailsmaybe consideredconsumableitems.Forthesecranes,itisdifficulttodiscernbetweennormaland abnormalbehavior.Forabnormaltrackingbehavior,lookforoneormoreofthefollowing symptoms: Frequentreplacementofwheels,wheelbearings,andrails. Brokentiebacksbetweenrunwaybeamsandcolumns. Extradrivepowerrequiredtomusclethroughcertainareasoftherunway. Brokenwheelflanges. Loudscrapingsounds. Wheelflangespressedhardagainsttherailhead. Endtruckscrackednearthewheelassemblies. Loosegirderconnections. Wheelflangesattempttoclimbovertherailthensuddenlycrashdown. Bridgederailment. Evenifthesesymptomsarenotpresent,thesuggestionsinthisguidewillhelpimprovebridge trackingperformanceandreducemaintenance.
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ASimplifiedDescriptionofSkewing Skewingoccurswhenthereisadifferenceintraction orspeedbetweenthedrivenendsofthebridge. Forthisdescriptionwewillassumethatskewingis initiatedbyonedriveendmovingfasterthanthe other,orfromdrivewheelskidding/slippage.When thishappens,thefollowingeventsaresetinto motion: 1. Thedriveeffectivelydeliversalargertraction forcetooneendofthebridge. 2. Thedifferenceintractionbetweenthedriven endscausesthebridgespantoactasalever arm.Theleverarmforcesareresistedby lateralloadingofthewheelsandrail. 3. Theleverarmactioncausesthebridgeframe totemporarilydeformasshowninfigure1. 4. Thedeformationcausesthecornersofthebridgeframetotwist,andthewheelsto becometemporarilymisaligned.Iftheframeisnotstiffenough,themisalignmentwill contributetothetrackingproblem. 5. Theframewillremaindeformedaslongasthereisadifferenceintractionforce betweenthedrivenends. 6. Thetractiondifferencecausesthecranetosteertoonesideoftherunway. 7. Thecranewillcontinuetosteertoonesideuntilthewheelflangetouchesthesideof therailhead. 8. Thewheelflangeappliesalateralforcetotherunway. 9. Thelateralforcecreatesafrictionforceparalleltotherunway. 10. Thefrictionforcecounteractsthetractionforce. 11. Therandomdifferencesofthefrictionforcesbetweenbridgeendscausestheskew angletointermittentlyincreaseanddecrease. 12. SeeFigure2.Thecranerotates(inplan)untilthecumulativeeffectofwheelflange contactandlateralfrictionareequaltotheeffectofthetractionforcedifference betweenthedrivenends.Theangleofrotationistheskewangle. 13. Iftheskewangleisallowedtobelargeenough,thefrictionforceparalleltotherunway willequalorexceedthetractionforceandthecranewillbindandcometoahalt.
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14. 15.

Ifthedriveshavesufficientpowerandtraction,thewheelswillclimbuptherailandthe cranemayderail. Iftheskewangleispreventedfrombeinglarge,theflangewillskipoffthesideofrail andcontinuetrackingalongtherunwaypath.

SuggestionsforDiagnosingTrackingProblems Thefollowingtablescontainconditionstoinvestigate.Theconditionslistedundereachofthe6 suspectitemsareorderedbytheirlikelihoodtocausetrackingproblems.

1.0RunwayRailRelated Condition Comment Misalignedrailscause wheelstobind. SeeFig.3.Excessive floatallowsalargerskew angle,largerlateralrail force,andbinding. HowtoDetect Performarunway alignmentsurvey. Inspectsidesofrailhead forexcessivewear. CorrectiveAction AlignrailsperCMAAor AISTtolerances. Replacewornrails. Runwayrailsoutof 1.1 horizontalalignment. 1.2 Excessivewheelfloat causedbyrailwear.

Excessivelateralrail movementcausedby 1.3 useoffloatingrail clamps. Drivewheelskiddingor 1.4 slippage. Runwayrailelevation outofalignment.

Checkforgapsbetween Floatingclampsallowrail railbaseandrailclamp. Replacefloatingrail toshiftlaterally,causing Clampsshouldbetight clampswithnonfloating alargerskewangle. againstbothedgesofrail typeclampsorclips. base. Causesunbalanced tractionbetweendrive wheelsresultingin skewing. Relativelylargeelevation differencesarerequired tocauseproblems. Inspectrailsurfacesfor liquidordebris. Performarunway alignmentsurvey. Keeprailscleananddry. Adjustmotorcontrolsto reduceacceleration. AlignrailsperCMAAor AISTtolerances.

1.5

Notes: Seereferences1and2forrunwayalignmenttolerances.
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2.0WheelRelated Condition Comment Producesthesame effectasrail misalignment,and causesskewing. Seecomment1.2. HowtoDetect Completeaprecise wheelalignmentsurvey. CorrectiveAction "MCB"bearingcapsules canbeshimmedfor alignment.

Wheelmisalignment 2.1 relativetootherwheels andtrackingdirection. Excessivewheelfloat 2.2 causedbywheelflange wear. Drivewheeldiameters 2.3 notmatchedwithin tolerance.

2.4

Excessivewearofdrive wheeltread.

Usegreaterflange Inspectwheelflangesfor hardnessfor excessivewear. replacementwheels. Replacedrivewheels Checkwheeltread Causesspeeddifference withwheelpairsthat diameters.See acrossthespan,resulting havematchingdiameters references1&2for inskewing. withinrecommended tolerances. tolerance. Createsvariabledrive Byvisualexamination. treadcircumferenceand Replacewornwheels, Normaltreadsurfaces causesaspeed usegreatertread shouldlookperfectly differencebetweendrive hardness. flat. wheels. Seecomment1.2. Causesskewingdueto rollingresistanceatone endofthebridge. Floatshouldbewithin thevaluesshowninFig. 3. Highlocaltemperature atthebearingcapsule, paintdiscoloration, noise. Replacewithwheelsthat havepropertreadwidth. Replacebearingand capsule.

Excessivewheelfloat 2.5 duetotreadprofiletoo wideforrailhead. 2.6 Wheelbearingfailure.

Notes: 2.1. Seereference2forwheelalignmenttolerance.Wheelalignmentsurveysaredifficult toperformandshouldonlybecompletedbyqualifiedpersonnelwhoareexperienced withthiswork.Pilotedflangecapsulescanbereplacedwitheccentricboresfor adjustment.Bearingalignmentscanonlybemadetosphericalrollerbearings.

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3.0BridgeFrameAlignment Condition Comment Originalequipmentmay bemisaligned,or becamemisalignedfrom othercauses. Hassameeffectasrail spanmisalignment. HowtoDetect See2.1 Useapreciselaser "distancemeter"to measurethebridge wheelspans. Inspectgirder connections. Observetracking behaviorduring accelerationwithtrolley atcenterofspan comparedto accelerationwithtrolley atendofbridge. Performanengineering analysistodetermine cornerrotationunder normalserviceloads. CorrectiveAction See2.1.

Bridgetrucks,bogie 3.1 trucks,orendtiesoutof alignment. Bridgespandimension 3.2 outoftolerancerelative torunwayrailspan.

Consultwithaqualified personforbridgespan modifications. Completeaprecise wheelalignmentsurvey. Reamholestonext largerboltdiameter,use interferencefitbolts. Modifydutycyclesothat bridgeaccelerationdoes notstartuntiltrolleyis nearmidspanofbridge.

3.3

Loosegirder connections.

Allowsbridgeframeto becomemisaligned.

Bridgeaccelerationor decelerationwithtrolley 3.4 atornearoneendofthe bridge.

Seefigure1.Oneendof bridgemovesfasterthan theothercausing skewing. Seefigure1.Frame deformationcancause temporarywheel misalignmentand skewing.

Endtrucksorendties 3.5 tooflexible.

Consultwithaqualified persontoincreasethe stiffnessofthebridge frame.

Notes: 3.1. Thereisacommonmisconceptionthatbumpingthecraneagainsttheendstopswill squarethebridgeframe.Thisprocedureisnotrecommendedduetothefollowing: Theendstopsmaynotbeperpendiculartotherunway. Thebridgebumpersmaynotbesquaretothebridgealignment. Girderconnectionsshouldholdthecornerjointcompletelyrigidandnotbe adjustable.

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4.0Runway&BuildingStructureRelated

Condition

Comment

HowtoDetect

CorrectiveAction Consultwithaqualified persontoreplacetie backswithimproved design. Consultwithaqualified persontospecify positivecamberand increasedstiffnessfor thelongspanbeam.

Brokentiebacksfor 4.1 runwaybeams.

Seecomment1.2. Visualstructural Causesrailmisalignment. inspection. Observepoortracking behavioroverbays whereoneendofthe bridgeissupportedbya beamwithasignificantly longerspanthanthe otherend.

Longspanrunwaybeam 4.2 ononesideofthe runway.

Longerbeamspanshave largerdeflection.See notebelow.

Excessivedeflectionof 4.3 runwaybeamsupport bracketsoncolumns.

Windloadonexterior wallcausesexcessive 4.4 lateraldeflectionof runway.

Heavysnowloadcauses 4.5 excessivelateral deflectionofrunway.

Columnsare eccentricallyloadedby cantileveredsupport bracketsforrunway beams,causingthe runwaytodeflectand decreasetherunway span. Iftherunwayisadjacent toanexteriorwall,wind loadingmaycause runwaylateral deflection.More significantfortall structures. Heavyroofliveloadmay causecolumnstobow outward,andincrease therunwayspan.More significantforverywide cranebays.

Poortrackingatornear columns.

Consultwithaqualified persontoincreasethe columnstiffness.

Poortrackingbehavior duringwindyconditions.

Consultwithaqualified persontoincrease lateralstiffnessatthe elevationoftherunway.

Poortrackingbehavior withheavysnowloadon roof.

Removesnowfromroof.

Notes: 4.2 Whenthebridgetravelsacrosstherunwaybeam,itdeflectsdownwardandassumesa concaveshape.Thebridgethentravelsonadownwardslopeuntilitreachesthemid spanofthebeam.Afterpassingthemidspan,thebridgetravelsuphill.Morepoweris requiredfortravellinguphill,andlessfordownhill.Thisconditioncreatesadifferencein tractionforcebetweenthedrivenendsandcancauseskewing.

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5.0BridgeMechanicalRelated Condition Comment Appliestocrossshaft connecteddrivewheels. Flexibleshaftingcausesa largerdifferencein angulartwistbetween drivewheels. Causesdrivewheelsto beunsynchronized. Appliestocrossshaft connecteddrivewheels where4wheelsare driven.Ifonedrive wheelslipsrelativeto theothers,thedrive shaftscanbecome preloadedwithtorsion. HowtoDetect Performanengineering analysistoconfirmthat angulardeflectionof shaftingiswithin allowablelimits. Inspectbridgedrive couplings CorrectiveAction Replacewithlarger diametershafting.See references1&2for allowableshafttwist. Replacelooseorworn couplings. Inspectrailsurfacesfor liquidordebris.Keep railscleananddry.Jack thedrivewheeloffthe railtoreleasethe torque.

5.1 Driveshafttooflexible.

5.2

Driveshaftcouplings looseorworn.

Driveshaftsbecomepre 5.3 loaded,shaftwindupis lockedin.

Observetrackingand watchforwheelskidding orslippage.

6.0MotorDriveRelated

Condition

Comment Appliestoindependent driveswithmagnetic control.Oneendofthe bridgestopsfaster causingskewing. Appliestoindependent driveswithmagnetic control.Oneendofthe bridgetravelsfaster causingskewing.

HowtoDetect Visualobservationof oneendofthebridge stoppingbeforethe other. Monitormotorspeeds underdynamic conditions.

CorrectiveAction Adjustbraketorque settingstoobtainequal torque. Servicemotorsand/or motorcontrolstoobtain synchronizedmotor speeds.

Differenceinbraking 6.1 torquebetweendrive wheels.

Drivemotorspeedsnot 6.2 equal.

Conclusion Usethesetablesasastartingpointtocreateadisciplinedandsystematictroubleshooting procedurethatissuitableforyourcranesandrunways.Itisstronglyrecommendedthatthe investigationphasebecarriedoutbyqualified,personnelwhohaveexperiencesolvingtracking problemsforavarietyofdifferentcraneapplications.

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References 1. CMAASpecification#70,2010ed.,CraneManufacturersAssociationofAmerica,Inc., Charlotte,NC. 2. AISTTechnicalReportNo.6,June2005ed.,AssociationforIronandSteelTechnology, Pittsburgh,PA. 3. Fisher,JamesM.,IndustrialBuildingsRoofstoColumnAnchorage,AISCDesignGuide7, AmericanInstituteofSteelConstruction,Chicago,2004.

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