I am looking for guidance on determining the optimal design parameters for the design of an overhead travelling crane when considering a span of 60m and a lift requirement of 2500Tonnes. If not possible what would be the maximum lift for the same span
is the 60 is the traveling distance or the span? if it is the span then this no way can be achieved or found, also 2500 tons is not logic for a single lift, you need to verify the design requirements. Usually crane span is related to structural frame spans, the lift has to be a practical one, which ranges from 1 ton to a 250 tons which is again very rare, majority traveling cranes are from 1 ton to 25 tons
Is this for a nuclear power station? If 2500 Te and 60m really are the specified loads and span then it is likely that it will be used very seldom. In theory you can design for any load to be lifted but maintenance on a crane system that is used once a year (10 years?) is a real problem. The main items to consider are: Availability of winches and bogies which then dictates running beam and rail sizes. For the spanning beam several alternative sizes needed to be designed and then costed. It will be not just weight but transport costs that determine the most efficient sizes The overall height of the crane will then determine the required roof height assuming that the crane is under cover. For comparison the Harland and Wolf cranes in Belfast called Samson and Goliath can lift 840 Tonnes each. Overall design needs to consider speed of travel, acceleration and deceleration rates and a host of other things.
