CHAPTER 4（ 4章）.pdf

CHAPTER - 4 Cranes and its Importance in the Construction Industry 4.1 Introduction A crane is defined as a mechanism for lifting and lowering loads with a hoisting mechanism (Shapiro and Shapiro 2010). On many construction sites a crane is needed to lift small to medium loads such as concrete skips, reinforcement, and formwork. As the lifting needs of the construction industry have increased and diversified, a large number of general and special purpose cranes have been designed and manufactured (Sawhney and Andre 2001). Generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It is mainly used for lifting heavy things and transporting them to other places. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of human being. The first construction cranes are invented by the Ancient Greeks and are used for the construction of tall buildings. The earliest cranes are constructed from wood, but cast iron and steel took over with the coming of the construction revolution There are three major considerations in the design of cranes. First, the crane must be able to lift the weight of the load; second, the crane must not topple; third, the crane must not rupture. Cranes, like all machines, obey the principle of conservation of energy. This means that the energy delivered to the load cannot exceed the energy put into the machine. The principle used in designing and installing hoisting equipment cover the breadth of engineering disciplines but most particularly the fields of mech