The real stress in the crane structures sometimes are different from those obtained on design stage using FEM. This difference could be significant and lead to crane elements damage. Application of the strain gauge measurements in the crane area as follows
- For crane structure residual life assessment it is very important to know the stress fluctuation in the structure critical elements and joints. The best result could be achieved from enquire this information directly from strain gauge measurements and further using in fatigue analysis
- Check the force distribution in crane structure elements. Example: In one case it was a reason of a Quay Crane plastic deformation because of improper boom forestay length setup during crane manufacturing.
- FEM result check with strain gauge measurements. All structural design nowadays is done using FEM. But how the stress in the real structure during its exploitation comply with the FEM design (were all forces considered in boundary conditions during analysis, are the boundary conditions adequate.
- Check the dynamic forces in the structure, which is hard to model by FEM ( i.e. the case of trolley passing over a Quay crane boom-girder joint). There are cases when big dynamic led to early crack initiations in such elements
We have a team of several qualified technicians and have invested in cutting edge equipment and software for the results post processing.
